“I took a vagrant off the street when he came out of prison and gave him a home and now he has destroyed my livelihood.”
So said Regal Nanan as he gazed at the remains of a fire which engulfed his tool shop at French Street, Princes Town, on Sunday night.
Nanan’s son Ryan, who works as a soldier with the T&T Defence Force, usually stayed in a bedroom inside the shop at nights, but he was not at home when the fire started. The rest of the family lives in another house a short distance away.
More than $125,000 worth of new and used tools were stored in the shop. Everything was destroyed including an undisclosed sum of cash, furniture and appliances. The building was not insured.
Up to 10 am yesterday, the fire had reignited. Standing close to the charred remains, Nanan said three weeks ago a man threatened to burn down their businessplace.
Desperate to protect his property, Nanan said he bought wire and began to fence the land.
“I made reports at the police station about the threats,” he added. On Sunday, Nanan said he decided to sleep in the shop and around 10.45 pm, he heard a loud explosion.
“I peeped out the hole and...then I saw the entire wall on fire,” Nanan said. He bawled for help but the flames intensified. Nanan said he ran down the road to alert neighbours. By the time fire officers arrived the entire building was destroyed.
His mother, Surajie Nanan, 71, who flew in from Baltimore last month, said she lost all her clothes and her medical records in the fire.
“I had six suitcases of clothes in the shop. All I have now is one dress and two underwear,” she cried. Surajie, who suffers from depression, said she also had filed reports at the station about threats made to her.
Police yesterday arrested a suspect in connection with the incident. Another suspect remains at large. Anyone with information on the fire can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS.