PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: A multimillion dollar fire in Port-of-Spain on Saturday, gutted over 140 businesses leaving hundreds of people out of work. Fire officials at the Wrighton Road Fire Station told Caribbean Net News that the inferno at the popular People's Mall, destroyed several business places including Queensway (which Caribbean Net News confirmed is owned by the family of Health Minister John Raphael), Catwalk, Nina's, Fabric Land, Kristina's, Y De Lima, Bridal and Curtain Shop as well as the Health Ministry's office. A number of nearby stores also suffered serious water damage. According to one official, the situation was made even worse due to a serious water shortage which forced firemen to run hoses from Frederick Street down to the sea which is some distance away in order to access water to extinguish the huge fire which some say is the biggest fire in Trinidad since the attempted coup of 1990. According to one fireman, at one point the fire seemed uncontrollable as many victims cried and watched helplessly as the flames engulfed many business places. "It was a sad and sorry sight to see many workers weeping as they watch their places of employment go up in flames," said a medical emergency worker whose unit was rushed to the scene, fearing heavy casualties. Angry firemen told Caribbean Net News that many fire hydrants on Frederick Street, Queen Street and other nearby areas were not working or without water. It was also reported that officials at the Water And Sewage Authority (WASA) were called upon to open the main lines but the water pressure failed. This forced WASA to rush truck-borne water to the scene. Police sources told Caribbean Net News that the fire which kept firemen busy for some 9 hours, started just after 6:00 am and turned out to be a chaotic situation forcing the authorities to bring in fire tenders with water from as far away as Tunapuna, Chaguanas and Northern Trinidad. Meanwhile, the president of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA)Gregory Aboud said, "We are very, very distressed. We consider this to be a disaster, as hundreds of people are out of work, and many business places, such as the People's Mall which provided employment for many, have been destroyed. We are disappointed that the situation could not have been controlled earlier. We contacted WASA and they told us they were opening all the lines and sending private contractors, but that did not bring the water," said Aboud. Fire officials said given the circumstances, they did the best they could. Damage has been put at US$25 million and counting. Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com