SPANISH TOWN, St Catherine — A businessman is among people pondering their fate after a pre-dawn fire on Monday ravaged two buildings, leaving an estimated $50 million in losses.

The blaze affected a furniture shop and a five-bedroom house located at 33 and 35 Cumberland Road in Spanish Town, according to acting public relations officer at the Jamaica Fire Brigade, Kerry-Gayl Forbes.

He told the Jamaica Observer that 10 people have been displaced.

Fire personnel, who were alerted about the inferno minutes after 2:00 am, responded with three units. “When the brigade arrived at the scene we observed that there was a furniture shop [with lumber stored in the yard] was already destroyed,” Forbes said. A five-bedroom house adjacent to it was also destroyed.

“The estimated loss is somewhere about $50 million and the risk was $80 million…,” Forbes added.

Investigators were up to Tuesday night yet to ascertain the cause of the fire, which apparently started at the furniture shop.

Willis Mowatt, who operates the furniture shop, suspects arson. He is also ruling out electrical short circuit. Mowatt said that shortly before the blaze he heard dogs barking furiously outside his gate as though they had seen someone.

“There was nothing here at the furniture shop to cause the fire,” Mowatt insisted. “Everyday wi plug out the current when the man dem finish work.”

Mowatt further stated that he, along with his daughter, tried frantically to extinguish the blaze, but their effort proved futile.

“The fire brigade come later and try to put out the fire, but it wasn’t easy for them to put it out because there was so much lumber and furniture there. Everything go up in flame; every machine; every furniture, every lumber,” he lamented.

Mowatt said in addition to his eight workers who are now jobless, he lost about 50 woodwork projects that he had been contracted to complete.

“The workers dem want go back to work, but them nuh have any form of machine,” the small businessman said. “We would like some form of assistance. Wi nuh know where to turn… To lose so much equipment and so much machine an so much material and furniture is not an easy loss.”

— Horace Mills