ROSE HALL, St James -- Fire yesterday gutted nine gift shops at the Holiday Village Shopping Centre, resulting in heavy losses to the operators.

Twenty-seven firefighters operating five units from the Freeport and Ironshore fire stations in St James, and the Falmouth fire station from neighbouring Trelawny worked for more than six hours to extinguish the blaze that started about 3:00 am, said Dolphin Doeman, acting superintendent of the St James Division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade.

Doeman said the efforts of firefighters saved the blaze from spreading to the other 38 shops on the complex. He was, however, unable to provide an estimate of the loss or say whether the shops were insured.Irene Holloway, manager of the Hotel Continental Limited, proprietor for the Holiday Village Shopping Centre, said the property was insured, but could not say if individual units were covered. Three of the shops, she said, were owned by the Hotel Continental Limited, while the others were "privately owned".

Holloway, who was obviously shaken by the fire, said she received a telephone call about 3:00 yesterday morning, informing her that the shops were ablaze.

She said that when she reached the premises,, shopping units at a section of the shopping centre were consumed by flames. All the contents of the shops were destroyed in the fire, she said.

A high pile of zinc packed beside the rubble was an indication of the destruction, while the blank expressions of the shop owners told the rest of the story.