A fire has ravaged the northern section of the Pearnel Charles Arcade in downtown Kingston, leaving 95 shops destroyed and displacing 54 vendors. The fire, which was first reported around 7 a.m., had nearly engulfed the structure by the time firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after.

An initial response unit from Trench Town was quickly reinforced by teams from Rollington Town, Half-Way Tree, and York Park fire stations. It took 46 firefighters two hours to bring the blaze under control. Cooling-down operations are ongoing.

Investigators are now on location, working to determine the cause of the fire. While preliminary investigations have commenced, the exact cause remains undetermined at this time.

Reporter: Ramon Gordon