"It is nerve-racking." That was the sentiment of Salazar Street, St James, resident Glenda Solomon, as she watched hopelessly as the dilapidated single-storey building next to her home was engulfed by fire. Fire officers estimated the damage to be about $100,000. Propping against her gate, Solomon said: "I went to the back room and all of a sudden I saw the place engulfed and when I looked out, I saw this elderly man running out of the place. "The young lady said she heard when the dog was barking," she said.
"She said she heard somebody say 'you owe me money and I am going to blow the place up.' "In the twinkle of an eye..." Solomon said she believed the fire might have been set by a homeless man. She said she was also grateful that the fire did not damage her home which was valued at about $150,000. "Thank God the fire was flowing that way," she said. Neighbours looked on as fire razed the building. Firemen from three units-one from Woodbrook and two from headquarters-fought valiantly to get the inferno under control.