Investigators are hoping to determine what caused a fire that destroyed two shops ay Carib Arcade on Main Street, Ocho Rios Sunday morning, October 9.
The fire that started about 5 a.m. destroyed the offices of Central Medical Laboratories and the adjoining offices of pediatrician Dr Horace Betton.
Fire officers said they believe the fire started in the operations section of the lab, at the back of the building. The Lab is believed to have suffered the most of the losses.
Senior deputy superintendent of the St Ann Fire Department Anthony Hinds, told the North Coast Times that the fire call was received shortly after 5 a.m. Two units from St Ann’s Bay and one from Port Maria responded.
The equipment in the lab and offices of Dr Betton were all burnt, as were portions of the building. Passersby commented on the intensity of the fire that reached and scorched branches and leaves of trees up to 30 feet above the roof of the buildings.
Initial estimates run into tens of millions of dollars but Mr Hinds said he would not speculate as a proper assessment will be done by fire experts from Kingston who started their work Sunday.
Also he said, his team was continuing to make an assessment about the cause of the fire.
Central Lab has another office on Evelyn Street Ocho Rios and was taking queries there.
