The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

OVER 200 cars and several boats were caught in a blaze that erupted near the Royal Bahamas Police Force Training College off University Drive yesterday, fire chief Walter Evans said.

The vehicles were all inoperable, he said.

He said up to press time, police were still battling the blaze, which began before 1pm, though they had gotten it under control. The fire occurred at the RBPF’s vehicle and vessel compound.

The billowing smoke threatened the health of people in the community. Stapledon resident Margaret Nawakeno, 59, couldn’t stop coughing as she spoke to The Tribune.

“I was in the front room sitting down and someone said they smell smoke, then I look outside, the thickness of the smoke blanketed the area, look like night falling. Explosions were going on as well.”

When she spoke to The Tribune, she said the intense smoke had billowed for more than an hour, prompting her plan to evacuate the area. “I only could see two houses outside from me,” she said. “I closed all my windows but the smoke still leaking in. I concerned about getting out of here before the smoke really get in here.”

Another resident, who identified herself as Ms Henfield, said she visited her house in the Stapledon area but could not stay because it was “stink with smoke.”

A part-owner of the Big O Seafood Market, she said she could smell the smoke from inside her business.

Fire strikes in GB - Page 6