By RICARDO WELLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
rwells@tribunemedia.net
THE country’s fire chief, Superintendent Walter Evans, yesterday pleaded with residents to take the dangers of fires in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew seriously, as reports have shown an increase in structural fires since the storm made landfall.
Making his plea at the latest structural fire, an interior blaze at the Bernard Road Budget Food Store, Supt Evans said his office has been inundated with calls of situations in which entire homes are being lost in avoidable circumstances.
Supt Evans, noting that yesterday’s incident still had to be formally investigated to determine its exact cause, encouraged Bahamians to be critically vigilant to avoid these sorts of fires in the future.
“We have responded. And we are asking individuals if they are using candles to ensure, make sure that they are not near clothing items, not near carpets, not near linen items. These items can easily burn and if you fall asleep, we are asking individuals before they go to sleep, to make sure to blow those candles out because it can be catastrophic,” Supt Evans said.
He knows of at least three homes over the last week that have been lost due to the incorrect use of candles.
He added: “We have also had a number of electrical cords as well, so persons who have experienced water damage in their homes, we know that the Ministry of Public Works would be conducting the relevant inspections, but we want to encourage all individuals, if you have had any degree of water on the inside of your home, particularly near the electrical sockets, to have those things evaluated before it is being used.”
Supt Evans continued: “Having suffered during Hurricane Matthew, it would be almost a double negative for individuals, so we are asking those persons to play close attention to those things.”
Tuesday’s fire was reported around 9am.
When firefighters arrived on the scene, units saw heavy smoke billowing from the two-storey structure.
“Immediately, all of the units on New Providence, which included headquarters and the truck which is stationed at Cable Beach, were called out to this fire,” Supt Evans said.
“Additional resources were called in from the headquarters which were mainly human resources and officers, as you can see in the back are still fighting this fire. This fire is confined to the interior.
“At this point we don’t have a probable cause at this stage, and at this stage an investigation has to be launched once the area is cleared. At this stage the area is still a hot zone and it is uninhabitable for persons to occupy,” he said.
The Tribune understands that establishment was open for business at the time of the fire. There were no reports of injury at the scene and employees could be seen looking on as officers extinguished the fire.
The upper level of the two-storey structure serves as an apartment complex, with two units in use.
Firefighters were able to completely extinguish the blaze around 11am.
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