Families lose everything in Barbican Road fire

As she stood observing firefighters put out the blaze that destroyed her home on Barbican Road in St Andrew, all Melonie Cornwall could muster was "Everything gone, mi lose everything."

The mother of six was so distraught that she was barely able to speak. But she managed to explain to THE STAR that she and her two-year-old son were at home when she saw smoke coming from a neighbour's house. Minutes later, she heard a loud explosion which she realised was a gas pan.

"The fire never big big yet, a just little bit a smoke did a come from di house. But yuh si when mi hear di sumpn burst, mi grab up di baby and run out inna mi towel because mi did just done bathe. Suh not even clothes mi did have pan mi back!" a tearful Cornwall said, adding that she lost everything and now her family is homeless.

After managing to escape the blaze, Cornwall then sounded the alarm about noon, and residents ran to give her aid. One such resident, 24-year-old Deranjah Martin, said that after hearing Chambers' cries, she, her mother and cousin tried to out the blaze but it was too strong.

"Mi run guh dung deh, den run come up back fi a bucket a water and throw the water inna di house. Then di landlord come and put on the hose fi get water out a di pipe. Mi all run come back up here a look fi sand an cah get nuh sand," Martin explained.

"Mi seh mi mother run guh in deh wid the water and when mi look a di roof that nearly drop pan mi madda," added Martin, who, after observing the severe loss suffered by her neighbours, was moved to tears.

Similarly, when Natalie Cornwall arrived at her home of 13 years to find nothing but ashes, the domestic worker had to be assisted to walk by her daughter and a friend.

"Is a call mi get and right now mi just in a shock because everything that I worked so hard for is gone. Just like that it gone," said Cornwall, whose youngest child is set to do 10 additional CSEC subjects next school year.

"Everything for her gone, her books, her uniform. Nothing nuh leave and she supposed to guh back to school September, weh deh right round the corner. Right now I just don't know what to do," said Cornwall, as she once again began to break down.

According to the Jamaica Fire Brigade's Operations Manager Superintendent Valerie Dixon, 13 people - seven adults and six children - were displaced by the fire. She also told THE STAR that the dwelling, which had a restaurant at the front and multiple homes behind it, was completely destroyed. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

However, multiple residents theorise that the fire may have been caused by a candle left unattended because power is yet to be restored to the community following the passage of Hurricane Beryl last Wednesday.