More than 20 million dollars’ worth of copper cable is estimated to have been destroyed in a fire at a TSTT facility in Laventille, with investigators probing the blaze as a suspected arson attack.
Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath said authorities will determine the circumstances surrounding the incident and assess the full extent of the damage.
Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath said although the fire that engulfed TSTT’s Laventille Work Centre cable yard is suspected arson, investigators will have to determine the circumstances surrounding the blaze and what led to the incident.
“The information that we have is that there is a suspicion that it is arson. Just recently, all of TSTT’s copper was put out for public tender. It is one of the greatest assets of TSTT, and therefore the copper from TSTT was housed partially at that facility. Over the past couple weeks and months, there have been increased issues of vandalism and theft of copper from TSTT, and it seems as though that this arson attack, this is suspected arson attack was motivated by the sale of that copper.”
Minister Padarath explained the assessment of the losses will have to take into account not only the materials stored at the site, but also the work done to restore and upgrade the facility.
“The copper is just one issue, but a number of renovation works was taking place at the facility, and therefore, separate and apart from storage, you have the amount of investment that has taken place in terms of getting the facility back up to scratch, and then also we’ll have to consult Angostura.”
He said discussions with Angostura will be necessary to determine the impact on the company.
The Minister also pointed to previous reports of copper theft, saying security concerns surrounding the material had already been brought to his attention.
“Just recently, a few months ago, um I was in El Socorro, tipped off by the police who advised me that they were in possession of persons who were engaged in stealing the copper for shipment through Icacos and other points. And therefore, those are some of the things that obviously that we will be deeply concerned about. And security has already been notified. Um we have our own theory in terms of possible involvement of those who may be inside of the company, outside of the company, service providers, etc. But all of those things are suspicions right now that I know is receiving the attention of the authorities.”
In a statement, the fire service responding to the incident, noted that a firefighter attached to the Wrightson Road Fire Station was hospitalised with superficial facial injuries and smoke inhalation while responding to the blaze.
In a separate statement, the TTPS reported that, three people are assisting police with investigations, while overnight operations were conducted in Beetham, Laventille and surrounding areas. Investigators have also requested CCTV footage.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, Suzette Martin, said the TTPS is treating the incident seriously, given the threat posed to critical infrastructure and the lives of emergency responders.