Over $23 million in fire damage in St Mary
Published:Friday | September 14, 2018 | 12:00 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
Properties with a combined estimated value of $23.7 million were damaged by fire in St Mary during August, according to figures released by the Jamaica Fire Brigade in the parish.
Addressing the monthly meeting of the St Mary Municipal Corporation on Thursday in Port Maria, District Officer Marlon Richards said that 94 fire calls were received by the fire department, of which 92 were genuine.
Among the properties damaged were two dwellings and the Gayle Post Office, which was gutted on August 5, allegedly by arsonists.
In the meantime, Richards revealed that the fire department is actively conducting fire prevention activities across the parish, with 40 buildings already being inspected for fire safety readiness.
These include shops, churches, libraries, bars, restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, and other properties.
The Fire Brigade also inspected 12 fire hydrants in St Mary and fixed two that were in need of repair.
Richards informed those at the meeting that the 94 responses the fire department made were done with only the one fire unit available at their disposal. However, since then, another unit has been returned to service.
Meanwhile, Superintendent Bobette Morgan, head of the St Mary Police, has described the burning of the Gayle Post office by arsonists as "a very unfortunate situation".
Morgan, addressing the same meeting, said that people at a dance in Gayle got upset that the police shut down the dance and retaliated by setting fire to an abandoned building, which then spread to the post office.