Owner of Khemlani Mart, Steve Khemlani, suspects that a blown Jamaica Public Service (JPS) transformer caused the fire that erupted at the store on Wednesday morning.

Khemlani, who was speaking to reporters outside his store on Constant Spring Road in St Andrew, said he received a call minutes to 7:00 in the morning that a JPS transformer located at the back of the store had exploded.

“There was also a generator room at the back and it was full of gas. So, the Fire Brigade has been here and they have been trying to battle it for the last three hours. But, I think they have their challenges too, with the lack of water, but they are managing,” Khemlani said.

READ: WATCH:Section of Khemlani Mart Manor Plaza on fire, firefighters on scene

He added that despite members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade being observed breaking store windows, this was done to release smoke and not because the team was having difficulty entering the building.

Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer for the Fire Brigade, Emeleo Ebanks, told reporters that they received a call about 6:46 am that the location that houses the Khemlani Mart Store was on fire.

“We responded initially with three units, we now have seven units on location. As it is now, the fire is not yet under control, but I can tell you, the fire has been restricted to the back of the building. That section of the building is more of a warehouse kind of situation and we are doing what we can to maintain it in that area and to eventually put the fire out and make sure that the front of the building is not affected,” Ebanks said.