Retired businessman spared the worst in downtown Kgn blaze
Published:Wednesday | August 27, 2025 | 12:09 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
Cordel Hylton is counting his blessings after he was spared the worst of a late-evening fire that engulfed a building along East Street in downtown Kingston that houses his headstone business.
At least one other occupant of the building, who was not on hand, was not so lucky.
The damage was evident as the smoke cleared.
Seated some metres from the burning building, clutching a bag of “important documents”, Hylton told The Gleaner that he was too weak in the knees to stand and watch the emergency crews tackle the fire that reportedly started about 5:40 p.m.
“While I was working, I saw the smoke … . I stop work and come out,” Hylton said, adding that his wife assisted him to safety.
He told The Gleaner that he has owned the building since 2009 and that the business was currently operated by his son, who is away.
Hylton was relieved when his wife came to him and said their section was spared.
“Mi nuh know what happen. I just see fire … . I thank God that the firemen come, whether fast or slow. Mi satisfied with weh dem a do. Mi can’t be against them,” Hylton said as he spoke with a worker within earshot of The Gleaner.
He said he was sure that the fire did not start in his section because he did not “bridge” light.
The police cordoned sections of East Street while the firefighters battled the blaze and engaged in cooling-down operations.
Residents of nearby Georges Lane were also happy the fire was confined and brought under control.
WORRISOME
“We did a worry… . Me start tell my daughter, ‘Pack up’ because we think it did a go come over … . Glad it never affect us seriously. We just get the smoke,” a resident told The Gleaner.
Some of the residents braved the smoke and assisted the firefighters in accessing sections of the building.
The Jamaica Fire Brigade is investigating.
Data contained in the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s Economic and Social Survey Jamaica shows that 1,742 individuals were directly impacted by fire last year.
This represents a 7.1 per cent increase over the previous year.
In relation to property loss, the report stated that this was estimated at more than $9 billion, which is about the same as 2023. The figure represents about three per cent of the estimated value of property at risk, which stood at $274.6 billion.
Non-structural fires decreased by 16.2 per cent but remained the dominant fire category, accounting for 83.6 per cent of the total number of fires.