Another five deported THE Office of the Commissioner

Fire destroys soap factory at Foulis
-- owners suspect arson
by Chamanlall Naipaul
A FIRE suspected to be the work of arsonists, last Monday night destroyed a soap factory at Foulis, Enmore, East Coast Demerara, resulting in an estimated loss of $5M worth of property, which includes machinery and chemicals used in the manufacture of soap.

The factory, which was a family business owned by Gowkarran and Indra Pirmal and located at Lot 19, Foulis, Enmore, produced laundry soap and soap powder under the brand name 'Superkleen'.

Yesterday, Mrs. Pirmal related to the Chronicle that at about 19:10 hrs Monday, her son Vijay, who was over at a neighbour's house, rushed over shouting that there was a fire after he noticed the front of the factory ablaze.

Neighbours responded immediately with a bucket brigade, and in the meantime, assistance was summoned.

It was reported that a fire tender from the Enmore sugar estate arrived about 20 minutes later, while one from the Georgetown Fire Service arrived just around 20:00 hrs. By that time the building was almost gone.

However, the Fire Service was able to contain the blaze to the factory thus preventing it from spreading to the house where the family lives which is in the same yard as the factory. A small shop in the yard run by the family was also unaffected by the fire.

Vijay, the eldest son of the Pirmals, told the Chronicle their neighbour had commented that the "moonlight is bright". And, as he looked up into the sky, he saw smoke. He then realised that there was a fire, and raised an alarm.

The Pirmals were in high praise of the Fire Service personnel, who they said, did their best to contain the fire.

However, they are dissatisfied with the response of the Police. The Pirmals said that despite several reports relating to incidents prior to the fire, at both the Enmore and Cove and John Police Stations, cops went only yesterday morning after the fire.

According to Mrs. Pirmal, there were two incidents, which seem to have some connection to the fire. More than two weeks ago, some persons tried unsuccessfully to get into the factory. The would-be intruders were apparently thwarted because the door has a heavy-duty hasp and staple.

However, last Friday just after 19:00 hrs, another attempt was made to break into the factory.

This time the thieves were successful. They stole the injectors from one of the Lister engines in the soap factory and set a Morris Oxford car afire before leaving.

On that occasion, a neighbour who owns a bakery and has a fire extinguisher, went over quickly and extinguished the blaze on the car which was severely burnt. The vandals had also punctured one wheel of a mini-bus the family owns.

These incidents have caused the family to suspect that the fire last Monday night was the work of arsonists.

Explaining why they were not able to see any of the suspects the Pirmals said that because of the current spate of crimes they close up the small shop they operate and retire very early. Their residence is at the back of the yard, and this makes it difficult for them to know what is happening in front.

The soap factory was in operation since 1987, and provided a useful income to the family despite the slowing up of business in recent times, Mr. Pirmal said.