The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

A COMPREHENSIVE police report stemming from investigations into the fire that destroyed a dormitory at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) last month is expected to be handed over to the government today, according to Agriculture Minister V Alfred Gray.

The Tribune asked Mr Gray why the report into the incident was not yet turned over or why no one had been charged in connection with the arson attack.

However, Mr Gray said he could not answer that line of questioning.

Last month, Mr Gray told reporters that a man had confessed to the crime, however police never confirmed this and no one has been charged in court in relation to the fire.

Flames ravaged the recently constructed men’s dorm at the institute on January 15. Preliminary reports from police said it was the result of arson and that the blaze began in the structure’s roof. It has been speculated that a disgruntled worker started the fire.

“That is a good question,” the minister said when asked about the police’s investigation on Wednesday, “but I don’t know. When last I checked, which was Monday, the police said that they did not complete their investigations into what caused the fire.

“I was told that a comprehensive report would be submitted by Friday. But I don’t want to get too much into that because they will say that politics is involved.”

Last Thursday, Arnold Forbes, Minister of State in the Ministry of Works, told The Tribune that officials would receive a report on the case in two weeks.

At the time, Mr Forbes did not want to give an estimated price tag for the repair, but said work would begin shortly after police finished their investigation into the fire.

The Mount Moriah MP explained that government teams visited the site, finished their assessments and were in the final stages of drafting a report with a recommendation on the way forward.

“We are now recovering from the fire,” Mr Forbes said last week, “and are still waiting on the completed reports from the police on their investigation about what happened. However, we do not want that to impede our progress with that project and we want to make sure that BAMSI moves forward, as much on schedule as possible.”

He claimed that the preliminary damage assessments have revealed that the roof and top floor of the dormitory were totally destroyed by the fire.

“We are looking at the ground floor because there are some heat fractures on the ground floor, so there may be some damaged steel on the ground floor as well. If we have to, the whole thing will come down because we don’t want to put anybody at risk moving forward,” Mr Forbes added.

Last month, project contractor Audley Hanna said it would cost over $120,000 to repair the dorm. However, he said, that cost is expected to rise after a team from the Ministry of Works assessed the damage.