The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

A FIRE ravaged homes on Dunmore Street, consuming funds an elderly man was saving for his cancer treatment and compounding the grief of another family mourning the loss of its matriarch.

Bain and Grants Town MP Wayde Watson said the fire, which began around 4.21am and raged for several hours, destroyed the homes of four families.

“We can replace the material, but fortunately, nobody was injured,” he said.

Social Services Minister Myles Laroda pledged support for families, saying he has alerted officials at his ministry and will do what can be done to help those affected.

Deborah Burrows said the clothes on the back of her and her husband, Larry, were all they had left.

“Everything, all the IDs, everything was in there,” she said, noting that her husband has non-small cell lung cancer and was saving up for radiation treatment.

His wheelchair was also lost in the fire.

“This isn’t just about houses being gone,” said another person affected. “It’s people’s lives, their memories, and their ability to recover. For this family, it’s been one blow after another, and it’s hard to even imagine how they’ll cope with all of this.”

Some residents said they suspect drug users started the fire while attempting to light their instruments.

One resident said a fire truck arrived an hour after it was called, long after the fire began its rapid spread.

Another resident claimed the fire trucks arrived without water.

“We always get do bad in the ghetto,” a resident said.

The Tribune was told that one of the families affected recently lost a matriarch. The stress of the latest tragedy reportedly caused a person to “black out,” while another woman developed breathing issues.

Superintendent Quincy McGregor of the Fire Services Department denied that fire trucks arrived at the scene without water, describing the allegation as “an urban myth.”

He said the department employs a relay system due to challenges with water access. This involves having a lead truck equipped with 1,000 gallons of water initiating firefighting efforts, while additional trucks, each holding up to 2,000 gallons, provide support and refill as needed.

“Typically, when the public sees a truck leaving to retrieve water, they assume it arrived empty,” he said, emphasising that all fire trucks are fully stocked with water prior to and after each incident, ensuring operational readiness at all times.