A fire which gutted a Freeport warehouse on Sunday night has put 40 workers on the breadline. Investigators said close to $6 million in building, stock and equipment went up in flames when Ace Recycling at Preysal Crown Trace was destroyed by fire. At around 5.30 pm, officers from the Freeport Police Station and Savonetta Fire Station were called after residents saw smoke coming from the ventilation blocks of the building.
No one was at work at the time and when fire appliances arrived, the entire structure was engulfed in flames. Up to late yesterday, investigators were working to determine its cause. They said the building burned quickly because it was filled with combustible material. Assistant manager Marvin de Freitas, who heard about the fire shortly after it broke out, said he immediately left his Diego Martin home only to find that 90 per cent of the business already had been destroyed. He said Ace Recycling collected paper-based materials to provide paper bales for the Grand Bay Mill at the O’Meara Industrial Estate as well as for export. The fire was one of four that occurred over the weekend.
