Fire guts former councillor’s house

Dark clouds that hovered in the afternoon skies yesterday mirrored the sentiment of a saddened Gary Henry, of East Albion, St Thomas, whose house was razed by fire on Sunday evening.

Henry shared his over 10-apartment dwelling with his common-law wife, his two sons, aged 10 and three, and a babysitter.

Silently seated on a platform at the rear of his destroyed home, the man, who served as councillor for the Llandewey Division in the St Thomas Parish Council, shared the events of the dreadful evening.

He told THE STAR that he and his family had just closed the business they operate in the area when they noticed smoke coming from the direction of their house.

"I closed the business about 7 p.m. About 10 minutes after, we saw a black smoke, something looking like tyre burning. We were talking about clothes being smoked up, but never did we think it was a house on fire. I went to investigate and it was my house on fire. There was nothing else I could do but try and out it on my own, but I was unsuccessful. The fire truck came about an hour and change after, and by that time the building was already engulfed," said Henry.

The former councillor's house is located five minutes, by car, from the Yallahs Fire Station.

Head of the St Thomas Fire Department, Deputy Superintendent Horace Thomas, said the unit which serves the community is currently in Kingston undergoing repairs.

Thomas told THE STAR that assistance was sought from the fire department in Morant Bay. He said that a team of firefighters, who were en route to a bushfire, was rerouted to bring the house fire under control. He said that the cause of the fire remains unknown and is being investigated.

However, Henry suspects arson.

"Somebody burnt it. As we close the business it was set on fire. They wanted to give us the element of surprise. Mi can stay over my business place and look over the yard, and it was about 10 minutes after we closed that the fire light. Why? I don't know, only God knows, but nobody can't tell me that it wasn't someone who light it," he said.

With a loss officially estimated at $18 million, Henry was the face and voice of a despondent husband and father, who was worried about how he would be able to build back for his partner and children.

"Mi lose everything ... only the clothes we have on our backs ... Three bedrooms, living, kitchen, dining, three bathrooms and two other additions and everywhere and everything burn out. Nothing nuh save. We try but nobody could go in there because of the smoke. If the lady was here with the baby dem sleeping, den a ashes dem wudda come take out. Right now we just have to try to pick up the pieces. God will work it out," said Henry, who served from 2003 to 2012, after being elected on the Jamaica Labour Party ticket.