The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

HEARTBREAK struck a Bimini family on Sunday after a fast-moving fire tore through their decades-old family hotel at a time it was in the process of being sold.

Glennash Rolle, co-owner of the All My Children Hotel, told The Tribune yesterday that she was in the United States when she began receiving a series of frantic phone calls alerting her to the afternoon blaze.

“My heart dropped,” she said of her initial response.

“The 38 hotel rooms and two suites, located on the top floor of the four storey building, were completely gutted by the fire while the lower levels remained untouched."

She said while the hotel was destroyed, other sections — including a banquet hall and a restaurant — were not damaged.

The family-owned building — the brainchild of her deceased father, Glen Rolle — was constructed in phases between the 1980s and the 1990s.

Ms Rolle said the hotel held special meaning for her family and the close-knit Bimini community, as the building was the second-oldest structure on the island.

She said her father was among the first black men to own property in downtown Bimini, and the first to own a hotel in the area, an achievement “that was unheard of” at the time.

“He always dreamed big and wanted something big and it had a lot of sentimental values for us so yesterday (Sunday), to see it all go down. It was a heartbreaking,” she said.

“I have a lot of childhood memories of running through the hotel. And you know, my dad was my hero. He was the hero of a lot of people in Bimini. He took care of that island.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but relatives were informed that electrical work had been underway in the area by BPL crews at the time.

She said while the hotel was destroyed, other buildings — including a banquet hall and a restaurant — were not damaged.

She added that the blaze especially heartbreaking as the family had been working with a realtor and was in the process of selling the property — a request her father made in his will.

“The worst thing was that we were in the middle of negotiations to close the property so it’s a bit of a setback for us,” she added, estimating the cost of damages to be in the millions.

Although the hotel was not in operation, it remained structurally sound, but was uninsured.

Ms Rolle thanked the community and firefighters for banding together to battle the blaze, and praised Senator Randy Rolle and the Police Commissioner for ensuring a fire truck was able to reach the scene.

“The building is so big that and I am so thankful for the people in the community,” she said. “They all got together. I even saw people out there in their pajamas helping to put out the fire and all that was, it was so sentimental to me that, you know, regardless of everything,  to see the community come together and help us out.”

She said she and her siblings’ homes are located near the building and expressed gratitude to God and the community that the situation did not escalate further.

Asked what’s next for the family, she said: “I just trust that God is in control and there's going to be a path through this.”