The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

PASTOR Eddie Victor and his congregation have been left devastated after a raging bush fire destroyed the Living Waters Assembly of God Church in the Chesapeake Subdivision of Grand Bahama this week.

“It is a total loss, the entire church is gone,” said Pastor Victor, who estimates that the damage to the sanctuary is around $500,000.

On Tuesday, fire officials dispatched a unit to a massive bush fire in the Chesapeake area after Pastor Victor said he contacted the fire department after receiving a call sometime around 3pm that the fire had moved closer to the church.

“Around 4.20pm, the alarm went off in the fellowship hall. I got in my car and headed to the church,” he recalled. Pastor Victor said he called the fire department again. “On my way to the church, I got a call saying that the fire department was there checking, and that smoke from the dense forest fire was causing the alarm to go off. However, when I got in the vicinity of the church I could see the eastern side of the roof had caught fire.”

He said that there was no fire truck in the area when he arrived. He said strong winds sent hot embers flying into the air, setting the roof ablaze.

However, the tragedy will not stop them from holding service on Sunday. “We plan to acquire a tent and hold services in the church parking lot,” he said.

This is the second church to be destroyed by bush fire in Grand Bahama. In 2013, Zion Baptist Church on East Sunrise Highway was also burned to the ground when embers ignited the roof.

Pastor Victor believes that forest fires are not taken seriously in the Bahamas. “The way we have been dealing with it is to watch it and let it burn, but these fires are destructive and have caused millions in damages,” he said. He also claimed that the fire department does not have sufficient equipment in Grand Bahama.

Deputy Leader of the FNM Peter Turnquest, the MP for East Grand Bahama, expressed his regret over the loss of the church in his constituency.

“We know the work that Pastor Eddie and Margo Victor do in this community, particularly among the youth ... and the loss of that facility is a tremendous loss,” he said.

Mr Turnquest said the fire emphasises the need for better and more emergency service equipment in Grand Bahama. He indicated that it is time for the establishment of a forestry fire service.

“While fire trucks and the fire department do an excellent job, they are rightfully focused on prevention and fighting fires for residential and commercial enterprises, and not necessarily forest fires. I think the time has come in Grand Bahama, Abaco, and areas where we have forest fires to establish a special unit that will be dedicated to the prevention and fighting of forestry fires,” he said.