GEORGETOWN, GUYANA – April 15, 2026 – An unexpected early-morning blaze tore through a residential property in downtown Georgetown on Wednesday, jumping to an adjacent popular budget hotel and leaving local business owners facing significant repair work, even as no casualties were reported in the incident.
The fire broke out shortly before 6:30 a.m. on Cummings Street, a central thoroughfare in the capital. It first swept through a wooden dwelling owned by Hugh Ross, a prominent Guyanese bodybuilder. Flames quickly spread from the home to the nearby four-story, 23-room Julian’s Hotel, Restaurant and Bar, located at the intersection of Cummings and Sixth Streets.
Julian McEwan, the hotel’s founder and owner, told reporters on the scene that he was not on site when the fire started, and received an urgent alert about the blaze from a neighboring resident. While the fire caused severe destruction to Ross’ entire home, damage to the hotel was largely contained to the building’s middle floor – one guest room was completely destroyed, and several adjacent rooms suffered only minor fire damage. The southern outer concrete wall of the hotel suffered surface damage where plaster flaked off from intense heat, and a portion of the building saw extensive water damage to bedding, ceiling infrastructure and electrical wiring from firefighting efforts.
Despite the damage, McEwan says he is determined to restore his business as quickly as possible, noting the hotel has been his life’s work. “Yes, this is my life! This is all I know now so I’m hoping that the insurance company works out something and let me get started and rebuild,” he told reporters Wednesday. Assessors from Hand-in-Hand Insurance were already on site within hours of the blaze to evaluate damage and process the claim.
Eight guests were staying in the hotel at the time the fire broke out, including one visiting Guyanese national. Miraculously, no injuries were reported among any guests, staff or first responders, though some personal guest belongings were damaged by water used to put out the blaze.
McEwan has already suspended all upcoming reservations at the hotel, including bookings tied to Guyana’s upcoming 60th independence anniversary celebrations. He is working with online booking platforms to relocate all upcoming guests to nearby accommodation while the hotel undergoes repairs.
Julian’s Hotel is a well-known budget lodging option in central Georgetown, popular with international travelers and overseas-based Guyanese returning to the country. McEwan was quick to praise the rapid, effective response from the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), which he credited with preventing far more catastrophic damage to his property. “Those guys did a fantastic job…The fire caught and was contained in one of my rooms when they got here. The response was great. They saved the building because if they didn’t contain that room, the entire internal structure would have been destroyed. They did a fantastic job in saving my property,” he said.
GFS investigators remain on the scene Wednesday to probe the exact cause of the fire. No representatives from Ross’ property were available to speak with media Wednesday, though multiple family members were seen meeting with firefighters to discuss the loss. Photos from the scene show a visibly distressed dog standing among the charred rubble of Ross’ home near its damaged kennel, the only visible occupant remaining at the destroyed property.
Investigators are expected to release a preliminary report on the fire’s cause in the coming days.