An overnight fire along Prince Street in Port of Spain has claimed the lives of two women and left several businesses in ruins.
The blaze, which broke out around 9pm between George and Charlotte Streets, quickly engulfed a multi-storey building, trapping occupants inside and forcing some to jump to safety as emergency responders battled the flames.
The victims have been identified as two women, one believed to be in her 50s and the other in her 20s.
At least five businesses were destroyed, with millions of dollars in losses expected and scores of workers now facing uncertainty.
Speaking at the scene, community activist Lennox Smith said while the incident was deeply tragic, the actions of residents helped prevent an even greater loss of life.
“The people themselves, the young men and I want to and I want to commend them. And there is a hero that I want to treat with as well. Taylor, who occupies that part of that building as well, he guided persons. He was inside of the fire itself. He used some very brittle wood to make a crossing, a bridge into another building so that they save lives. And of course, the young men, when they saw that a young man that the gentleman who jumped from the upper floor to the landing, they went in, braved the fire and went in and saved that man.”
A business owner affected by the blaze said the fire has compounded hardship for many already struggling.
“So there’s a lot of people that’s been affected, mainly the floor that burned out completely. All right, so we are taking a big loss and we are trying to cope with what we are dealing with at this moment. So, so far that’s what we have at this present moment and the other people who was around doing other stuff when it happened.”