The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

POLICE are investigating after a structural fire destroyed five stalls at a local regatta site in Cat Island early yesterday morning.

Officers received a report about the fire at the New Bight location shortly after 3am.

“Sometime after 3am this (Wednesday) morning, the police were alerted to a call that there was a fire at the regatta site,” Assistant Superintendent of Police Terrico Sweeting said when contacted by this newspaper yesterday.

“So we answered the call and we responded and when we arrived, we met the middle portion of the regatta site engulfed in flames and I can say that all of the (damage was) structural and the (damage) totaled five stalls at the regatta site. There’s nothing left there.”

ASP Sweeting, who is also in charge of the Cat Island division, said police were able to extinguish the blaze with the help of community residents.

He said no one was injured in the incident.

“We worked along with the citizens of the community. We got two water pumps and we pumped the water from the sea and we kind of (put out) the flames because we didn’t want it to spread so that would be the extent of the fire here, but I’m happy that no one was hurt and we’re grateful for that.”

When asked what caused the fire, ASP Sweeting could not say. He said police suspect the blaze may have been the result of an electrical fault.

“The officers from the fire investigations unit from the fire branch, they should be on the flight now heading here to conduct a thorough investigation, but from what I can see, I believe it may have been some electrical shortage, but it does not appear to be any arson,” he added.

Anna Rolle, owner of Annie Boo Restaurant, said her stall was among those left burned to the ground.

The Cat Island resident said the restaurant had been in operation for some 15 years and estimated a loss of over $10,000 worth of business supplies.

“My stall was one of the stalls on the site that really was stocked out. It hurt me because I lost a lot of stuff in there, like really a lot,” Ms Rolle told The Tribune yesterday. “My loss, I kinda averaged over $10,000. I had a stove and I had a freezer, fridge and I had all my deep fryers and griddles and stuff.

“I just came from the States last month and I purchased a lot of stuff, my cups and stoves and plates and napkins and Gatorade and Monster. Everyone who messaged me said ‘Ann you really lost a lot, like really a lot’ but I thank God because I feel that I will bounce back bigger and better.

“But I do feel for the other stall owners because for them, that was their livelihood. As for me, I have a job so that was more a part-time thing, but I put my all into it because that really used to help me a lot.”

The business owner told The Tribune she believed that nothing could have saved the stalls as the fire was too massive. However, she thinks police could have acted sooner.

“When we reached down there, the stalls were completely burned down like nothing was down there,” she said. “The gentleman who called me, he said he called the police when the fire was only at one stall but five stalls are now gone but I’m trying to figure out what took them so long that they gave this fire a chance, not that they could control it, but to get to all the stalls without calling us or trying to locate us to have people come around to throw water and stuff.”

However, ASP Sweeting defended their efforts to fight the blaze, saying responding officers arrived at the scene “within minutes” after being alerted.

“Police can only respond when they’re alerted and so when the police were alerted to the fire, they got there within minutes because you could almost throw a stone from the police station to the regatta site. You cannot see the blaze from the station, but it’s in very, very close proximity,” he said when asked about the issue.

“But I would say to those persons that when police arrived on the scene, the mayhem had already occurred. There was nothing to be salvaged and the only reason why the fire did not spread to any further stall because where the five stalls are located, it’s kinda centred and so if there was another stall to the south of the most southern stall, that would’ve been gone too because the direction of which the breeze was going.”

As for the way forward for stall owners, Ms Rolle said she hopes the group can come together to issue an appeal to the government for rebuilding assistance. She said she feels confident that help will be provided given the fact that Prime Minister Phillip “ Brave” Davis is their MP.