OCHO RIOS, St Ann — It was only a few months ago that Annmarie James and her sister decided to build a structure sturdy and reliable enough to store their goods in St Ann’s Ocho Rios Market. Their aim was to create something that could withstand heavy rains as it has always been a struggle sheltering under tarpaulins.

According to James, it cost $1 million to put up the structure. Sunday afternoon they were devastated when they got news that their investment went up in flames.

“When I got home off the road and was at my doorway, a girl run come and seh, ‘Annmarie, your stall a burn down a Ochi.’ When I looked at the video I went into my house and eye water drop out a mi eye, because a December mi build the shop,” said James.

She shared that she stood still and stared in dismay at the video, then asked God to intervene and send help. James earns a living from vending in the Ocho Rios and Falmouth markets, but over the years she has invested more heavily in the former.

“A lot of things burn up in the fire; a barrel that you see there has a lot of clothes that burn right out. We lose a lot, and I’ve been here about 30 years. This is the only thing I know,” she said dolefully during a visit to the burnt out market on Monday.

“We would like some help to see what they can do for us — just help us,” James pleaded.

To get a clearer picture of how vendors like James have been affected and what they need to get back on their feet, Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie; Member of Parliament for St Ann North Eastern Matthew Samuda, and members of the St Ann Municipal Corporation did a walk-through of the market on Monday. McKenzie cautioned that the State’s response will not be immediate.

“We express our sympathy to vendors who have been affected and we understand the impact it will have, but I want them to know that there will be no snapping-of-the-fingers response to this situation. The SDC (Social Development Commission) will undertake an assessment of the area to get information, which is vital. The municipality will also be working closely with SDC and the fire brigade to provide answers,” he said.

“We are urging the vendors not to expect an overnight fix, because that is not going to be the answer. We will have some further discussions to offer some form of assistance but I don’t want to tell anybody that by tomorrow we will remedy the situation,” McKenzie added.

Among vendors counting their losses is Fabian Taylor. Two of his shops were gutted; both were stacked with local and imported produce.

“Somebody send me a TikTok live and I saw my shop burning down right in front of my eyes, but I just have to hold it,” he said as he pointed to more than 1,000 pounds of ginger that were destroyed.

“I just really don’t understand what is happening but I just know that we lost a lot,” Taylor added.

According to mayor of St Ann’s Bay Michael Belnavis, information he has received suggests that the preliminary assessments indicate that electrical issues linked to illegal connections may have caused the fire.

Firefighters were on the scene Monday and their investigations continue.