A warehouse and office owned by Carib Brewery was destroyed by bush fire in Mt Lambert this afternoon.
According to reports, the fire began shortly after midday on a strip of dry grass between the building and the Eastern Main Road.
It quickly spread to wooden pallets and plastic bottle cases being stored on the compound and then unto the building itself.
Fire officers and tenders from several fire stations between Morvant and Tunapuna responded to the scene but were unable to save the building from the fire that was being fueled by the contents of the warehouse. Staff of the building were immediately evacuated and stood in a adjacent empty lot of land as the fire officers battled with the inferno.
They eventually extinguished the fire after the roof of the two story building caved in. The managed to stop the fire from spreading to the Mt Lambert Community Centre located next door.
Fire investigators are still attempting to evaluate the cause of the fire but believe that it may have been started by a discarded cigarette butt.