The Tribune

By DANA SMITH dsmith@tribunemedia.net A YEAR after a fire ripped through the offices of the Betty K shipping company on Bay Street, fire officials have yet to determine what started the blaze. The Valentine's Day fire consumed not only the Betty K building but an entire city block, causing more than $100 million in damage. "They haven't given us any reason or any cause for the fire," said Adrianne Wells, Betty K office manager. "Up to this day, we still don't know." Officials reported last year, the massive fire started in an office on the second floor of the building around 7.45am and continued to burn throughout the day, aided by combustible material inside and heavy wind. Despite the efforts of firefighters, the Betty K building was not salvageable. All that was left was a charred shell. Fire Chief Walter Evans said yesterday that fire investigators know the fire was not intentionally set but the exact cause is still unknown. "For all indications from the investigator standpoint, there's nothing there to suggest arson was the cause for this incident," he said. "The cause of the fire has not been determined as of yet." This year, the shipping company has plans to move its administrative offices from Bay Street's House of Mosko to the Arawak Key port development site, where it already has warehouses set up. Ms Wells said the government assisted in getting the Arawak Key warehouse "up and running, ahead of schedule. "Definitely we have to move," Ms Wells said. "That is the agenda." "We're not rebuilding at our old location," said Tamaisha Fox, another Betty K employee. "There's no reason to move back there." The intense blaze was fought by at least 35 fire officers and 15 Airport Authority fire service officers, who were then assisted by 100 officers from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and 100 officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force. The fire also damaged the Adderley Building, the condemned complex adjoining the Churchill Building, which houses the Cabinet Office. The Betty K building, erected in the 1920s, was a part of the Antiquities, Monuments, and Museum Corporation's (AMMC) list of historical sites. Following the fire, Orry Sands, AAMC chairman, said: "It is a major loss because it's the history of the Kelly people that goes along with it." Officials had hoped the building would be converted into a national museum once the shipping operations moved out. The building was named Betty K in honour of the daughter of the late founder C Trevor Kelly. It housed a company that originally transported lumber but eventually grew into one of the largest freight carriers in the Bahamas.