An early morning fire yesterday gutted a Fairyland's landmark, razing the operations of hardware merchant Williams Trading Ltd. and throwing into the question the fate of its 14 employees.

Twenty-four personnel and nine appliances from the Bermuda Fire Service's Central, Clearwater, and Port Royal stations responded to the alarm around 2.20 a.m. and arrived to find the three-storey, Bermudian-stone structure completely engulfed in flames, Lieutenant Jon Thompson told The Royal Gazette .

No injuries were reported and all that was left of the building -- parts of which were believed to be around 200 years old -- were the charred, skeletal remains of its outside walls.

A team of fire investigators was at the scene last night as work crews -- on the advice of structural engineers -- pulled down the badly weakened walls to make it safe to enter and probe the cause of the blaze.

Cause of the fire had yet to be determined but investigators -- who have not ruled out arson -- were interested in examining an area at the front (south-facing wall) of the building, said Lt. Thompson. That wall he added, would be pulled away from the rubble.

The fire, at times shooting nearly 50 feet into the night sky, woke area residents with the noise of exploding gas cylinders and aerosol spray cans.

Some of the fireworks were caused when the burst-discs (over-pressure valves) on fire-extinguisher tanks exploded under the intense heat. Ironically Williams Trading was a major supplier of extinguishers.

Meanwhile Belco cut power to 12 Fairyland homes for about four hours as a precaution.

The BFS's Sergeant Wendell Simmons, who was one of the first on the scene, reported the fire appeared to be particularly intense on the second floor, with flames billowing from windows through to the roof.

Fuelled by high winds, it did not take long for the roof and old wooden floors to collapse, he said.

Despite being hampered by a lack of water, firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control by 4 a.m. said Lt. Malcolm Johnson -- hot-spots however were still smouldering late into the morning.

Lt. Thompson credited the work of water-hauler Johhny Eatherley who was staying nearby and who pitched in with five truck loads of water.

Fire completely destroys Williams Trading Ltd.

"These guys did a superb job. I'm really impressed and can't say enough about them,'' Williams Trading General Manager Conrad Soares told The Royal Gazette .

Called to the scene around 3 a.m., Mr. Soares was left stunned by the scene of complete destruction. "Everything in there is history. Out of our total inventory I'm sure 95 percent of it is gone.'' The structure and its contents were however insured, he said.

Meanwhile the fate of 14 staff members was yesterday unclear. "That's up to (owner) Mrs. (Jean) Williams,'' said Mr. Soares.

"We're all pretty devastated. Everyone here doesn't know if they've got a job tomorrow or next week.'' Mrs. Jean Williams -- when contacted by The Royal Gazette -- could not say what would happen next.

"Nothing's left. I can't say what will happen with the employees. I can't even pay them because I don't even have a cheque book. It was destroyed in the fire along with everything else.'' Mrs. Williams said the company -- which sold hardware, power tools, and construction equipment -- had been operating well over 50 years and moved to the site about ten years ago.

The company operated a first-floor retail centre and used the second and third floors primarily for offices and storage, said Mr. Soares.

At one point the building -- which measured approximately 60-by-80 feet -- housed the headquarters of the Bermuda Mineral Water Co., distributors of Pepsi-Cola and Canada Dry across the Island.

Williams Trading last made headlines in September 1995, when co-owner Herbert Alan Williams was charged and convicted of permitting the cultivation of cannabis in the basement of his Paget home. He is presently serving a four-year prison term.

He operated Williams Trading Ltd. along with his mother, Mrs. Jean Williams who is the majority owner.