Christmas plans, livelihood go up in flames

Sixty-two-year-old Ray Moore could only watch helplessly on Thursday as firefighters battled the blaze that consumed his home on Mountain View Avenue in St Andrew.

Moore’s house of 25 years was one of three destroyed in the fire, which began around 11:20 a.m. and displaced 20 people, including eight children.

He recalled being inside his five-bedroom home when he noticed smoke coming from his neighbour’s house.

Realising how quickly the fire was spreading, Moore said he tried to climb on to his roof with a bucket of water in an attempt to slow its advance. Instead, he fell, injuring his right leg.

With the flames moving rapidly, Moore, his wife, son, and three grandchildren were forced to flee with only their lives.

Though grateful that no lives were lost, a despondent Moore told The Gleaner that he was mourning the loss of an integral part of his family’s legacy.

His prized Caveman Sound System – established in the 1960s and passed down from his father – was severely damaged.

“By time mi quint, it (fire) start reach already inna mi back room, bun out all mi sound system. Speaker work mi deh ya suh a do. A millions a dollars mi lost,” he said. “Mi fix di most speakers ‘round Jamaica, so everything bun up inna di house and pon di verandah, and mi haffi go pay back fi all a dem deh.”

Most of the sound system’s speaker boxes were destroyed, he added, dampening his Christmas plans and jeopardising upcoming commitments.

“Mi have a date fi guh play, and see, di sound bun up and yuh tek people money already. So weh you a go do?” Ya haffi get a next sound fi go represent fi yuh,” he said.

He estimated his losses at roughly $15 million, including the sound system and ongoing repair jobs. He admitted that he was anxious about how he would recover, having lost his primary source of income.

“Mi just a [look] di best ya now, but mi a bun up inside,” he said, while expressing dissatisfaction with the response time of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB).

Meanwhile, Moore’s neighbour, Maureen Townsend, said her puppy alerted her to the blaze. Her house was spared, but her son Andrew Welsh’s adjoining dwelling was not.

“Mi a come off a di road and see di smoke, and mi a run it as joke and a seh, ‘A wonder if a my place a burn down?’, and den when mi reach mi see seh a my place,” the 30-year-old said.

Welsh said the property had five adjoining bedrooms, where multiple people lived.

“Nothing at all nuh save. Nothing at all,” he said.

Superintendent Horace Thomas, who heads the JFB’s Kingston and St Andrew Division, told The Gleaner that the cause of the fire was still under investigation. He said they received the call at about 11:26 a.m., and a unit from the nearby Rollington Town station responded promptly. Two additional units from York Park were also deployed.

“With sound firefighting doctrine and tactics, the fire was quickly brought under control, and we are conducting investigations to ascertain the cause of this fire,” he said.

Thomas urged residents to familiarise themselves with the direct contact numbers for nearby fire stations to help prevent delays.

“Many persons usually sometimes call the 110 number, and that sometimes delays our response time by the time the call should be forwarded to us,” he said. “We also encourage persons not just to know the 100 number but at least one fire station’s number.”

He added: “Anywhere in Kingston and St Andrew, if they call 876-922-2121 or 876-922-2122, that will connect them directly to the assistance,” he advised.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com