Fire at Barnett Lane in Montego Bay leaves 14 homeless

Some 14 people, including four children, have been left homeless following a fire along Barnett Lane in Montego Bay, St James on Monday night. 

It is believed that the fire started around 8 p.m. and quickly engulfed the two-floor building, which is used for both residential and commercial purposes.

A bar, which is housed on the ground floor, escapes damage during the fire. 

A unit from the Area Four headquarters of the Jamaica Fire Brigade responded to the blaze. 

A resident, Anthony Slowly, told The Gleaner that he was unable to save any personal items during the ordeal. 

"TV, dresser, clothes, everything.  Passport, papers, everything lose. Every single thing bun out. Ah di towel mi affi wrap round my face and grab everybody and move," he said. 

The resident shared that after recognising the imminent danger, he dashed to assist his neighbour to escape the property. 

"A work mi supposed to aggo yah now, but mi cah bother go," the resident said. 

An elderly resident, John Flowers, shared that he had to jump through his bedroom window on the first floor.

"I heard fire because it started from upstairs, so before it reached to my room, mi jump through the window," he said. 

The man said that he, too, has lost all his personal items. 

"Mi lose everything. Everything gone," Flowers lamented. 

Mayor of Montego Bay, Richard Vernon, who is also the Councillor for the Montego Bay South Division, where Barnett Lane, is located, explained that steps will be taken to ensure that the families receive assistance as they rebuild their lives.

"We are going to take the necessary steps to assist the families. I will be collecting information to see how best I can seek some assistance for the children in particular, and later on, I will look at how we can assist the persons who have been displaced," Vernon said. 

Monday night's blaze is the third of its kind in the downtown Montego Bay area since Saturday.

However, Vernon stated that the fires all "occurred under different circumstances". 

Fire destroyed two shops at the Shoe Arcade on Saturday night, while two businesses, including an appliance warehouse, were gutted on Monday morning. 

Vernon pointed out that efforts have been made to educate residents and business owners on safety protocols. 

"We always encourage persons to follow certain safety protocols to prevent fires and from time to time, the Jamaica Fire Brigade as well as our disaster coordinator, through the Disaster Unit at the St James Municipal Corporation, conduct sensitisation sessions to help persons to reduce the risk of fires," he said.

In the meantime, the mayor shared that more attention will be placed on educating residents on ways to mitigate fires after the respective investigations are completed.

- Rochelle Clayton 

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