Overview:
A fire destroyed the Dumornay public market in Delmas 33—a northeast Port-au-Prince suburb—between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, decimating merchants’ goods and deepening economic losses in a country where public markets frequently burn. Vendors threatened to block Delmas Road if authorities do not respond by Saturday. No official statement has been issued, and the cause of the fire remains unknown.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — A violent overnight fire swept through the Dumornay public market in Delmas 33— a northeast Port-au-Prince suburb—between Wednesday and Thursday, destroying stalls, warehouses and thousands of gourdes worth of merchandise belonging to small vendors. The merchants, many already living with the economic toll of repeated market fires across Haiti, issued an ultimatum to authorities: assist by Saturday or face roadblocks in protest.
The fire started around 10 p.m. on Dec. 10 and kept spreading into midmorning Dec. 11, despite multiple fire trucks arriving and facing difficulties in controlling the destructive blaze. Victims criticize the public market’s design, which lacks access roads for emergency vehicles.
“We are giving the authorities three days, until Saturday, to come and tell us what they plan to do with us merchants, how they intend to repair and reopen the market,” a vendor said through tears, speaking with The Haitian Times on condition of anonymity due to fear of persecution, as they all did.
“We are giving the authorities three days, until Saturday, to come and tell us what they plan to do with us merchants and how they intend to reopen the market; otherwise, we will block the road.”
a vendor at Dumornay market
“ Otherwise, we will block the road. [Each time a fire breaks out], we are on our own. When we lose everything, no one comes to help us.”
Authorities have not identified the cause of the fire, and no government officials — including from the Delmas mayor’s office — have visited the scene, issued a statement, or launched an investigation. By Thursday morning, Dec. 11, vendors picked through ashes and twisted metal, some weeping or standing in stunned silence, hoping to salvage anything from the wreckage.
A pattern of fires in Haiti’s public markets and total losses for merchants
Merchants say this is the third time the Dumornay Market has burned. Fires routinely devastate major public markets across Haiti — from Croix-des-Bossales to Pétion-Ville, La Saline, Croix-des-Bouquets, Tabarre and Pont-Sondé, and from Jérémie to Gonaïves and Cap-Haïtien — wiping out the capital base of small traders who depend entirely on informal commerce to support their families. Many rely on informal rotating savings systems or high-interest bank loans to buy goods, leaving them unable to recover after each loss.
Firefighters struggled to contain the flames at Delmas 33 Dumornay Market because its narrow corridors left no access for fire trucks, a common structural flaw in Haitian market design.
Clothing stalls, food depots, cosmetic workshops, rice warehouses, luggage stands, shoe shops and dozens of other small businesses burned completely. By sunrise Thursday, only metal sheets, charred walls and bent iron frames remained.
“The little we have comes from loans,” a woman said.
“Now everything is gone. We haven’t seen a single government official,” she lamented.
Authorities have not provided a damage estimate. Vendors say all merchandise stored inside the market — food products, cosmetics, fabric, kitchen supplies and more — was lost. Smoke, debris and pockets of fire were still visible in several sections.
The vendors insist the government must act quickly or face large-scale demonstrations.
“We are tired,” another vendor said. “We cannot survive if every time we rebuild our business, a fire returns to take everything.”
As they waited for a government response, some attempted to salvage items such as canned goods, butter and vinegar from waterlogged boxes scattered across the debris.
Here are some images of the damage caused by the fire that broke out at Dumornay Public Market in Delmas 33, Port-au-Prince:
Metal sheets and iron frames are all that remain of merchants’ stalls at the Dumornay Market in Delmas on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, following the overnight fire. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
People attempt to recover cans of butter, salmon and other food items after the Dumornay market fire in Delmas on Dec. 11, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
A rice warehouse in the Dumornay market continues to smolder on Thursday morning, Dec. 11, 2025, a day after the fire devastated the area. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
Residents watch as some sections of the Dumornay market in Delmas continue to burn on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
People carry gallons of water to extinguish remaining flames hours after the Dumornay market fire in Delmas on Dec. 11, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
Two merchants sit beside their destroyed wholesale goods — including eggs and disposable plates — following the Dumornay market fire on Dec. 11, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
Three adjacent kiosks in the Dumornay market were completely destroyed by the Dec. 10 fire, with all merchandise lost. Photo taken Dec. 11, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
People search through debris and waterlogged goods the day after the Dumornay market fire in Delmas on Dec. 11, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise / The Haitian Times.
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