19 left homeless by Hopewell fire

Western Bureau

Five families, consisting of 11 adults and eight children, have been left wondering what their next move will be after fire severely damaged the 20-apartment dwelling where they lived in Pondpiece, Hopewell, Hanover, yesterday. The building has been rendered uninhabitable.

According to fire officials, with more than $100 million in property at risk as a result of the blaze, the fire eventually resulted in an estimated $50 million worth of property damage.

One female resident, who was said to be asthmatic, was transported to the Noel Holmes Hospital by the Hanover Fire Department’s emergency medical technicians (EMTs) when she began to complain about breathing problems. She had been in the vicinity of the heavy smoke emanating from the building as fire personnel were putting out the blaze.

The fire, which is said to have started at the back of the complex about 2:00 p.m., had engulfed the complex by the time the Hanover firefighters reached the scene about 20 minutes later. One unit from the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) Hanover Divisionin Lucea, assisted by one unit from Montego Bay, St James, eventually got the fire under control and eventually out by 5:25 p.m.

The firemen had to scamper for water in and around the Hopewell area to refill their trucks while carrying out the operation as three fire hydrants in the Pondpiece area of Hopewell, which were all within 100 metres of the scene of the fire, were all non-functional.

Residents complained about the non-functioning of the hydrants as they argued that the fire personnel could have extinguished the fire earlier if they could have accessed additional water during their efforts to douse and control the flames. Both fire units at the scene had to leave periodically to source additional water in another section of Hopewell so as to successfully complete their task.

A resident of Pondpiece, Barwill Nembhard, had high praise for police personnel who were early on the scene of the fire, commending them for the assistance they provided to distressed residents.

“People generally video the police doing bad things, but today, I have to mention them and commend them because I saw the policemen moving mattresses, taking out furniture, and assisting these people who have been burnt out, and we really need to commend them for that kind of move which I saw them doing today,” he said.

Investigations were last night continuing into the cause of the fire.

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