Since 2012, Gladstone Freight Terminal (GFT) has never closed its doors with respect to a fire until yesterday, as a result of the massive fire that roared across the New Providence Landfill on Sunday.
GFT, located off Gladstone Road, acknowledged that the closure might have impacted small retailers and individuals with items that were left at the warehouse facility.
The company spoke with Guardian Business yesterday on the closure.
"The Gladstone Freight Terminal has over its history since 2012, not been impacted as it was over the weekend and this week, by fires emanating from the public landfill," said GFT.
"As landlords of the facility, our business will not see loss of revenue as a result of today's closure.
"However, our tenants, who are primarily the warehouse operators such as Tropical and Gladstone Warehouse Services, will have to examine whether or not the closure resulting from this event will cause material financial loss to them.
"Today's closure may also impact small retailers and individuals whose items would have been kept at the warehouse facility pending their collection of same."
GFT said the only time it closed the facilities "briefly" was as a result of hurricane conditions that were in
accordance with the government's public closure notices.
Another business along Gladstone Road, Tropical Gyros, told Guardian Business that daily sales dropped significantly because the continued thick blanket of smoke may have discouraged customers.
A supervisor at Tropical Gyros, Lakita Oliver, said on a regular day they would see more than 50 customers. But near 3 p.m. yesterday, she said they had only seen about 15 to 20 customers. The location closes at 5 p.m.
"[Yesterday], I would say we had an 80 percent drop in business. Nobody came in like that today because of the smoke," said Oliver.
"The smoke is very heavy still."
Superintendent Walter Evans, officer in charge of Police Fire Services, warned reporters on Sunday about the fire being near a propane company along Gladstone Road.
He said, at the time, that winds were blowing in the direct path of the propane company's location.
"The concern for us is with the flying embers moving in this direction. We could see that the propane company has the required necessary mechanisms in place, which are the sprinklers for their tanks," he said on Sunday.
"The only thing will be the operability of those sprinkler systems, to ensure they are working properly and to ensure that if anything happens, they would be able to operate, and then of course we would be able to address any concerns from a fire perspective."
He said if there was an issue with the propane tanks, it might have called for a "mandatory evacuation", but contended that at the time that may not have been necessary.

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