It took about an hour to reduce Mark Anthony Brown's dreams to a pile of charred rubble. A recent fire in Seaforth, St. Thomas, destroyed his upholstering shop, as well as a few other businesses in a small complex on main street.
MORNINGS BRING empty days for Mark Anthony Brown.
No work to do, nowhere to go, he sleeps "drive up and down with friends" and wonders whether his business can rise from the ashes. Titillated by tales of boundless opportunities abroad, his thoughts sometimes dance around the promises of England, Canada and the US.
Until two weeks ago, Brown, known as Andrew in his native Seaforth, St. Thomas, felt his life had a purpose. His self-described factory in a small complex on main street was stacked two storeys high with half-finished sofas. Known in these parts for his flair and sturdy designs, the 27-year-old knew there would be plenty of buyers for his creations despite the $20,000 to $60,000 price tag.
That's the way it has been since he left upholstery school and sold his first chair to a furniture store owner who bought it on the spot. In four years of business he threw partner and "every little money I get I turned it back into the business because I saw how I could've gained from it."
Then in just about an hour, though it seemed agonisingly longer, fingers of yellow, orange and red flames consumed more than a million dollars worth of equipment. Gone were the half-done sofas, lumber, material, as well as car seats, chairs and hassocks entrusted to him for repairs by clients in and around this little town about 40 miles from Kingston. The July 12 fire also destroyed a supermarket, a restaurant and an upstairs apartment.
"I had the (table) saw," he said, "but had to let it go because it was so hot."
In the smoke and confusion, Brown said he ran back outside, searching for a way to get in. "I just had to stay outside and hold down my head. I felt haunted. I wanted to cry but the eye water wouldn't come," he said. Brown explained that he was working up to the point of buying insurance but hadn't reached there yet because he kept pumping money back into equipment and material.
Residents who noticed the first sparks at about 11:00 a.m. are still incensed about the length of time it took to get a fire unit in the area. The units at the Morant Bay fire station, about five miles from Seaforth were out of service. A unit eventually made its way from Yallahs, about 20 miles away.
"The hottest part was standing up and seeing the things burn and can't help," said Marcia Brown (no relation) who operates a bar down the street from the burned out complex.
"The country gone to the dogs," she reckoned. "What's the purpose living in a country where when anything happen and you call, you can't get help.
"Every time I talk about it, it makes me angry. People should protest and march," she said.
Poor people have nobody to stand up and talk for us. We feel the burden, we pay the taxes. Whe di taxpayer money a go?," she asked.
While she looks at the more complex picture of a troubled country, Andrew Brown is grappling with the issues on a smaller scale -- his 19-year-old brother who was learning the trade and the two other boys he employed. He's also worried about the sister in grade 10 and his mother who rely on him for financial support.
Still, he believes that with a little help he can rise again. He's got another location already, by the Morant Bay roundabout. A million dollar loan, he reckoned could set him up again with some of the necessary tools and material.
"I know I can make it back real fast," he said, recalling the time he saved half a million in six months (most of which went back into the business).
More than anything though, "it's sad, because every morning I get up and have to say to myself, I have no work to do."
Ian Allen Photo
