$35m fire destroys Hanover’s disaster response supplies
Published:Saturday | July 16, 2022 | 12:11 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Boasting a 95 per cent readiness in the event of a major disaster striking the western parish up to two weeks ago, the Hanover Disaster Preparedness Committee has been hard hit after a fire gutted its storage facility, which was filled to capacity with stock.
Kenisha Stennett-Dunbar, the disaster preparedness coordinator for that parish, told The Gleaner that an estimated $35 million worth of goods was lost in the blaze destroying the 45-foot storage container about 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
“We had mattresses; other bedding like about 200 foam parts, single and double divans; blankets; a variety of sizes of tarpaulin, flashlights, among other things – all of which was destroyed either by fire or water,” Stennett-Dunbar said, adding that nothing was saved.
The container was located on the Poor Relief Department’s Property on Millers Drive in the centre of Lucea. Despite being only about 200 metres from the Jamaica Fire Brigade’s Hanover Divisional Headquarters, the fire unit was only able to do cooling-down operations by the time it arrived.
The Gleaner was told that the single working fire unit at the station was on another assignment out of town, which affected its arrival time.
With the Atlantic hurricane season under way, Stennett-Dunbar expressed concern about the situation, hoping there will not be any major disaster while repair work takes place on the storage facility.
“I am not panicking, but I am a bit on the edge because I want to know that in the event anything happens, we, as a parish, stand ready to respond,” she stated, adding that all the relevant agencies that can render assistance in replenishing the lost items have been notified with a hope that the stock can be replaced in short order.
She said that the Jamaica Fire Brigade assisting in washing out the burnt container as repair work began on Wednesday after the investigation had been completed. The Hanover Municipal Corporation is taking the lead in the refurbishing and preparation work, which she said should be completed shortly.