The Barbados Fire Service has raised concern over the rising number of house fires this year after a blaze on Saturday gutted one home, extensively affected another, and displaced four people at Skeete’s Road, Bank Hall, St Michael.
Divisional Officer Marlon Small said the fire service received a call around 8:58 a.m., prompting a multi-unit response.
“The Barbados Fire Service responded with three appliances from the Bridgetown Fire Station, two water tenders and one tanker,” he said, noting that 13 officers attended the scene.
Two people sustained burns, but their injuries are not life-threatening.
The incident brings the total number of house fires so far this year to 17, a figure Small described as troubling.
“This reinforces the need for vigilance and good housekeeping. We want to urge persons that when they’re leaving home, make sure they shut down all the appliances and even when you’re at home and you feel tired, please don’t engage in cooking or anything like that.”
He credited the community for helping contain the fire.
“We want to thank the members of the community who, through their efforts, would have helped to contain this fire from spreading to other structures and also those persons who alerted the fire service early on so that we could have mitigate the fire and reduce any further fire spread,” Small said.
Representatives from the Social Empowerment Agency and the office of the MP for the area Chris Gibbs were on site.
Investigations as to the cause of the fire are ongoing.
One of the displaced residents, 41-year-old Keith Trotman, said the loss hit particularly hard as the properties belonged to his father, who lives in the United States.
He said his father worked hard to buy the property and erect the two houses. He was living in the house that was gutted, while the other was occupied by tenants.
“If it’s one thing he worked hard for it,” Trotman said. “So at this time I really just feel bad within myself.”
He said he had been outside when the fire started and tried to respond immediately.
“I don’t know how it happened,” he said. “The first thing that I did was just run for a hose and try my best to out [it] (the fire), but you know, the heat was really hot.”
Trotman said he had taken pride in maintaining the property for his father and struggled to come to terms with the destruction.
“If it is one thing that I always wanted, was when he come back from overseas, for him to see his place good but it gone contrary so you know that is the part that hurts.”
He was unable to save anything in the two-bedroom wall and wood structure. He said the property was insured.
Trotman said he will stay with family until he gets back on his feet.
When a Barbados TODAY team arrived at the scene officers were battling the blaze while the injured were being tended to by paramedics. Neighbours gathered around the scene watching the first responders carry out their duties and assisted where they could. (SZB)
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