The historic Woodford Lodge Recreation Club, once used by socialites of the defunct Caroni (1975) Limited has been destroyed in a fire. The inferno broke out shortly after midday in the unoccupied building at Chaguanas. Firefighters used more than 50,000 litres of water to fight the blaze but were unable to save the building, marked as historic by the the Sugar Heritage Village of T&T. Police said since the closure of Caroni in 2003, the club was abandoned. Street dwellers frequented the building and often cooked on the grounds.
Anthony De Souza, one of the ex-Caroni workers, said he used to go to the club in the hey days of sugar. "I think it is a place of memory, a beautiful antique building and the home of the Woodford Lodge estate. It is a pity it was destroyed," De Souza said. Firefighters estimated that the structure was valued at $80,000. Curtis Renaud, fire sub officer of the Chaguanas Fire Station said because the building was comprised mainly of old wood, it became engulfed quickly.
Investigators said there was a possibility that one of the street dwellers may have lit a fire nearby, which spread and caused the building to be destroyed. Last year, calls were made for the club to be restored. In April last year, Chaguanasbased DirecTV refurbished the Woodford Lodge recreational ground under its community outreach programme. The facility was painted and donated seats washed and installed. The project was completed in three days between April 9 and 11.
In an unrelated incident, fire also broke out at Caratal Road, Tortuga. Police said Rajkumar Ramcharan of 28B Caratal Road, Tortuga was at his home when fire started around 8 pm. Ramcharan and his family managed to run to safety but their entire house was destroyed. Gasparillo police are continuing investigations.
