By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

RAYNOLD Culmer watched in shock yesterday as fire consumed 78 West Lounge, the uninsured Gladstone Road club he co-owns.

By the time he arrived in the early hours of Thursday morning, the building was already beyond saving.

Police believe the fire was deliberately set. Mr Culmer said CCTV footage showed two men breaking into the club before pouring gasoline inside. He believes the fire started in the VIP section.

“If anybody would see something that they worked very hard for go up in flames literally, it hurt,” he said. “It felt really bad. That weak to your knees feeling, that belly breakdown feeling, that I can’t believe this is happening. That was the overall feeling.”

Firefighters were called around 2.30am and responded with three engines. The single-story structure was fully engulfed by the time they arrived.

Although the blaze was eventually brought under control, the damage was extensive.

With no insurance, Mr Culmer and his partners now face the daunting task of starting over from scratch.

“I was angry, also in pain, you know, hurt,” he said.

“We have a good support system. We have family, friends and lovers, and a lot of people have been here already. They’re just for giving us words of encouragement and even been here just to help start the clean-up process.”

The club opened in March after three and a half months of preparation and employed more than 20 people. Mr Culmer said much of the work was done by hand.

“We did a lot of work ourselves. We had a lot of late nights, a lot of early mornings, day in and day out. Putting in a lot of work,” he said. “Even on opening, there’s still a lot of work we did every chance we got, trying to fine-tune, trying to upgrade, trying to make sure that everything was up to standard.”

Speakers, TVs, seating, and the bar were all lost in the fire. Police say arson is suspected and the investigation remains active.