Fire ravaged Cap-Haitien Cluny Market, leaving vendors scrambling to recover what’s left

CAP-HAÏTIEN — Hours after a fire tore through the historic indoor market Cluny Market in downtown Cap-Haïtien at night on Jan.24, men climbed over charred beams and broken concrete, digging through the debris for food and goods that might still be saved. Vendors stood nearby, inspecting bags pulled from the wreckage, brushing off smoke stains and deciding whether what remained could still be sold.

For many, it was a last attempt to recover something—anything—from what had been their livelihood.

A long-time vendor, friendly called ‘ManTi Lime’, had 80 bags of black beans, worth about $2,000, stored inside the market before the fire. As five men worked to retrieve what they could for her, some bags emerged scorched on top, blackened by smoke and heat. Other merchants examined them and said the beans inside were still usable. ‘Man Ti Lime’ disagreed.

“These won’t do anything for me,” she said, her hands shaking as she held her phone. “I had 80 bags—2,000 dollars. Those bags won’t do anything for me; we don’t have a government.”

The cause of the fire has not been determined as of Sunday. No deaths or injuries were reported.

About 30 storages and hundreds of small shops were destroyed, according to a press release from the town hall.

“Cap-Haitien’s Town Hall expresses its solidarity with the merchants, vendors, employees and those affected by this tragedy that affected an emblematic place for the economic, social and historic life of the city,” the town hall stated.

Cap-Haitien vendors scramble to recover products after fire

Cluny Market, renovated in July 2024, housed hundreds of vendors selling food and household goods. By morning, most of that space has been destroyed. Residents said the fire began around 10:30 p.m. Merchants attempted to extinguish the fire by throwing buckets of water while others scrambled to pick up their goods. 

Firefighters arrived hours after the blaze began, residents said. After they left, small fires were still burning on the ground. People poured water over hot spots, not only to prevent flare-ups, but to dig deeper into the debris for goods. 

As people picked through the ruins, tensions rose. Some residents questioned whether food pulled from the debris was safe to eat.

“I don’t want those beans,” Jodelin Auguste, a 19-year-old three-wheel taxi-moto driver, said. “The owners of those beans have no common sense. But I’m not happy because the market caught on fire. The vendors lost a lot of stuff. And many probably borrowed money to buy them.” 

Others went further. Multiple residents and vendors said some people took bags of money from the debris that did not belong to them. Few police officers or security guards were present to secure the area. Vendors who worked outside the building continued selling, but those inside lost their primary source of income overnight.

The losses extend beyond vendors.

Several ‘bouretye’ or wheelbarrow drivers, who transported goods to the market, also lost their main source of income. Mackenzie Jean, one of them, stood quietly beside his wheelbarrow, staring at the debris. The money he made from the work at the market helped support  his 3-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son with 

“This is where I worked, I’m not making money anywhere else,” Jean said. “It’s like they took our soul from us.”

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