The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

MEMBERS of the Haitian community, devastated by a late night fire on Monday, told The Tribune yesterday they believe the blaze was intentionally set to force them off the property.

Firefighters battled a huge fire around 9pm that ripped through a shanty town off Joe Farrington Road, leaving more than 150 people homeless.

Pastor Celiner St Louis, who spoke on behalf of the community, said residents saw several men jump a wall into the village and set one of the homes on fire. Because of the proximity of the wooden structures, the fire spread quickly engulfing more than 75 homes before it was finally extinguished by firefighters around midnight.

He said: “From yesterday (Monday) around 8:30 in the night, they saw two guys coming around and then they put the gas in the back of one of the houses and then they lit it on fire and after they light the fire they ran back by the wall. It’s about 75 almost 80 homes that got burned up.

“We have over 100 people who do not have a place to live right now because they lost everything, they don’t save nothing, they lost all their documents and clothes, only thing they have is their life. Thank God for Jesus and nobody died. We need help for those people, they do have nowhere to sleep. So we are asking the community to help those people who don’t have nothing.”

When The Tribune arrived on the scene yesterday morning, firefighters were still attempting to completely extinguish the fire and the area was still clouded with smoke. Residents were sifting through some of the debris in an attempt to salvage anything that was not destroyed in the fire.

One of those residents, 74-year-old Lucien Janise, said all he managed to get out of his home before it completely burned to the ground was his passport.

“I had to get my passport to prove I am a citizen for immigration. That is all I could get, I ran in and I ran out. It was so hot and the fire was everywhere,” he said.

“Everything burn, everything gone. Me and my daughter lived in there. The only thing I could save was my documents, that’s it. No clothes, no nothing. I don’t know what to do, I don’t have any money, I don’t have nothing to eat. I sleep in somebody house on the ground last night. I retired, I do not work. I just get residence and I only saved my passport. We need help.”

Wrensworth Butler, a Superintendent at Social Services, said social workers were at the scene from the time the fire started until about 4am attempting to address the immediate needs of all who were affected.

“Last night we received a call saying that a portion of the Haitian Village was on fire, we came to assess the situation and determine the needs of who needed to be assisted with accommodation. We stayed until about 4am, many of the persons who need accommodations said they prefer to remain in this village, to protect their personal belongings, but their children were sent elsewhere for accommodations with family members and friends outside the community,” he said.

 “I have a team of 12 social workers here who are doing assessments to determine the needs – if they need food, clothing and housing. We interviewed persons all morning to determine how many persons were displaced and what kind of assistance they will need. Once we have gotten all the information, if they need emergency housing, we will get them that, if they need food we will provide food assistance for them. It’s a collaborative effort with all the agencies – Red Cross, Great Commissions, the Salvation Army and the National Emergency Management Agency. We all came together to see how we can best assist.”

Fire Services Chief Walter Evans said his department’s main priority at this time is to determine if there were any casualties.

“Our focus is on assessing injuries and determining if there were any casualties We still aren’t certain because it is hard to determine how many people actually lived in those homes,” he said.

“After we complete that then we have to make a count of the homes that were destroyed and put a dollar value on the damage. It was still hot when we were there so we have to wait for it to cool down, but our fire investigators are working simultaneously talking to a number of persons to find out what happened. We still aren’t sure.”

Mr Evans admitted he heard some talk of arson, but said it is still too early to determine the cause of the blaze, however, he urged members of the community who saw something, or may know something, to come forward.

He said: “We are still interviewing a number of persons but we are asking people if they have the information, come and bring it to the police. If they saw anyone doing it, provide a name or the names of the persons responsible. Step forward and let us know.”

Mr Evans said intensive investigations are continuing.