Man saves five bodies from fire

A St Catherine man yesterday risked smoke inhalation, injury and death to pull the bodies of five persons from Archer's Funeral Home on Young Street, Spanish Town, during a raging fire that damaged a section of the facility.

Kirk Valentine said that he was exiting his house in the wee hours of the morning when his female companion told him that his cousin's house was in flames.

"Mi see di fire a spread and mi come suh boom and go a Mr Archer place, and guh suh boom! boom! boom! pon di door and start beat it down. Mi and him son-in-law start assist and next ting mi know a bare dead body mi a take out a casket and mi a seh a wah dis," Valentine said.

"Mi take out about five bodies, but yuh know a which part shock mi? Mi a take out one a di body dem and when mi really look pon di oman face it come like di oman vex," Valentine said. "Mi hold di faith and nuh let her go. Har family dem have to thank mi fi dat because a mi make she a guh bury today."

Michael Archer, owner of Archer's Funeral Home, expressed gratitude that no lives were lost.

"The administrative building has been damaged but the funerals for today (yesterday) will not be affected. None of the bodies were destroyed and our fridge operations remain intact," the funeral director said.

Early indications are that the fire started at a neighbouring residence and quickly spread. The house in which Shantae Blake and her friend Aaliyah Williams were sleeping was destroyed.

"Mi feel like mi asthma was taking mi and when I opened my eyes, I see bare fire around mi. Mi shake mi friend but she nah wake up so mi had to lift her up and take her out the house. By the time mi fi run back in to try save mi tings like mi TV, everything flat a grung," Blake said. Her eyes welled up with tears as they surveyed the damage.

"Everything gone. Mi did have $28,000 in the house and it gone. Honestly, right now mi baby in state care and the judge said mi could get her back once mi have somewhere to live. Mi live with mi friend fi a one month and say mi ago set myself suh mi can get mi baby and now everything gone. Mi don't know what to do. Mi fren don't have anything except the clothes on her back," she said. The fire also destroyed the Kidsville Early Childhood Centre.