Fire destroys businessplace, house in Westmoreland

WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — A fire of unknown origin destroyed a Westmoreland businessplace and an adjoining place of dwelling in the Big Bridge area of the parish on Thursday.The variety store — which sold plumbing fixtures, hair products, detergent, food and drinks ‐-- was razed in the blaze which took place around 9:40 am.District Officer for Investigation for the Jamaica Fire Brigade, O'Neill Kerr said two fire units from the Savanna-la-Mar Fire Station responded to the call.The operator of the variety store, who only gave her name as Sharon, said the fire started in the middle section of the building between a stove and a refrigerator.“I was coming from the storeroom with some liquid bottles and I realised there was a fire. I alerted my husband because he was at the front with a friend. By the time he came around, the entire area between the stove and the fridge was already consumed by fire,” stated Sharon.“We started to put it out and got some assistance from a neighbour around the back. We had to break off the pipe from the water tank to try and control the fire, but it was too much. He was inside and we were outside passing water to him,” she added.The woman, who has four children, ages eight and 17, said nothing was saved during the fire which is now a major setback for her.“I can’t even explain how I feel right now. All my hard work is just gone. The shop was broken into after the hurricane and they took almost everything. So, I was just rebuilding,” stated Sharon, adding that, “I just bought a software point-of-sale system—it’s not even a week old and it’s also gone. It’s everything.”The shop operator said she also restocked the shop on Wednesday because of the fact that, “I don’t like to be out of goods when customers come.”“I don't even know what time it is now. My phone, my bag, my purse — everything was inside. I have to try and get back my driver’s license, passport... everything,” Sharon lamented.District Officer Kerr noted that while there were minor injuries, there were no fatalities during the incident.Kerr also noted that it was too early to indicate the cause of the fire.“As you can see right now, the fire investigators are on the scene. We’re conducting an investigation. As it relates to the probable cause, we’re still looking into the probable cause of this situation. But we’re on the ground going through to see if we could ascertain what the cause of this situation is,” explained Kerr.Similarly, Kerr was unable to estimate the value of the loss.— Anthony Lewis