‘Duppy house’ destroyed by fire

The infamous 'duppy house' on Nugent Street in Spanish Town, St Catherine, was destroyed by fire yesterday, and residents believe it was the action of ghosts that haunt the property.

"A di duppy dem bun it down. Is yesterday (Monday) mi get a letter from dem seh it a go bun. A serious ting. See six a dem live inside and dem stone mi already so dem serious bad," resident Delroy Lindo said while showing the letter.

The duppy house was in the news in July, as persons said that the ghost of a man called 'Tailor' was stoning anyone who passed the premises.

When THE STAR team visited the property in the summer, a few rocks sailed over a fence and landed on the road while the news team was conducting interviews.

The location was reportedly Tailor's workplace. Now it has been reduced to ashes.

Lindo's uncle, 80-year-old Donald Lindo, was left counting his losses due to the fire.

"Lawd Jeezas, mi heart a hurt mi as the fireman just show mi say di safe wid mi papers and $300,000 burn up. Di fire is wicked. It set mi back, and a three weeks a go mi come out a hospital. Now mi lose everything," Lindo said.

Not insured

He said that he owned the structures but said they were not insured. The elder Lindo said that he occupied one of the premises, while his nephew and others occupied the rest.

The fire left 11 persons homeless.

The elder Lindo accused fire personnel of taking long to respond. An official from the St Catherine Fire Department said that a call came in at 10:42 a.m. that the dwellings were on fire.

The official said that the Spanish Town unit was at a scene in Point Hill but still responded. Assistance was then summoned from the Old Harbour and Waterford stations.

Up to press time, fire personnel had not established how the fire started. The damage was estimated at $10 million.