22477: (Chamberlain) Haiti-Fire (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, June 23 (AP) -- A fire ripped through a downtown section
of Haiti's capital, destroying more than 30 businesses, officials said
Wednesday. No injuries were reported.
   Firefighters extinguished the blaze that began late Tuesday and lingered
into Wednesday morning along a one-block stretch in Port-au-Prince,
authorities said.
   More than 30 stores and warehouses on both sides of the street were
destroyed with damages estimated at about $1 million, said Reginald Boulos,
president of the Haitian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
   Some were buildings and others were food stands that belonged to an
open-air market. Warehouses containing food, toilet paper and candy were
also destroyed, private Radio Vision 2000 reported.
   Some 40 Brazilian troops, part of a new U.N. mission to help keep peace
after ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide left Feb. 29, provided
security at the fire scene.