13 families forced out of homes by extensive blaze

One of the most extensive fires in recent City history, which ravaged the densely populated Wellington Street area on Sunday night, has served as a wake-up call for the community and authorities to urgently address long-standing issues and implement proactive measures to prevent another tragedy.

The blaze, which is currently under police investigation, wiped out or damaged a dozen homes and displaced 13 families and 45 people – 30 adults, 14 children, and a baby.

Six houses were razed to the ground while heat damaged four others, smoke damaged another six and another was partially damaged. The response from the Barbados Fire Service with three tenders from three stations and 21 officers led by acting Chief Fire Officer Henderson Patrick could not halt the destructive fury for several hours.

City of Bridgetown MP Corey Lane praised the first responders and community members who rallied to provide immediate support to the affected families. The Ministry of People Empowerment’s new Resilience and Reintegration Unit offered emergency accommodations for the homeless.

“The unit was on the scene within an hour of the fire alarm being raised and worked throughout the night and early morning hours to help those affected,” Lane said. “We are accommodating 13 families right now, comprising about 45 individuals.”

The incident highlighted concerns about emergency preparedness in the capital. Residents voiced issues with fire service response times, equipment availability, maintenance of fire hydrants, and the need for additional fire stations in densely populated areas.

One resident, speaking to Barbados TODAY on Monday, described the night as chaotic, with residents scrambling to alert neighbours to the quickly spreading fire.

“I was coming out here calling the fella Winston, like calling him to tell him [there was] a fire,” she recounted. “The [water] pressure was very low. The fire was big.

“They had no water, and the houses were so close they kept on burning fast.”

Lane acknowledged the community’s resilience, praising the young men who helped evacuate residents and assisted the fire service.

“The community [came] together last night. It [was] amazing and heartwarming to see communities press into action, especially the young men in the area who got on top of the roofs and kicked down the palings and made sure everybody was clear and brought out the hoses and assisted the Barbados Fire Service in an invaluable way. I also want to thank the Barbados Fire Service. They were tremendously challenged last night in terms of having enough tenders, enough water, and enough pressure. Even notwithstanding those general challenges, I think that they did the best that they could.

“I want to thank them. . . and the numerous people who reached out . . . particularly to look after the children in these situations – how they could donate clothes and so on. From my previous five fires, I can tell you that when the smoke clears and people get the trinkets in the beginning, people forget that a livelihood needs to be rebuilt. People need . . . housing, they need continual psychological support.”

But the lawmaker emphasised the need for improved fire prevention measures, regular infrastructure maintenance, and comprehensive insurance options for residents in high-risk areas.

“One of the ideas I have in terms of community pool insurance is how some organisations like BARP – the Barbados Association of Retired Persons –  have been able to get a good deal for their senior citizens by going forward as a group,” Lane explained. “I think one of the proposals they’re working with, one company so far, was a little amenable to it, in terms of getting group insurance for these houses where it can help reduce the risk to the insurance company.”

Lane stressed the importance of providing not only immediate relief but also long-term support for those affected.

“People think about the tangible, the physical, but it’s a very traumatic experience. I can only imagine losing all of your possessions in a few minutes,” he said. “The short term is really to make sure we have that psychological support as well. The medium term is really to move them into more reasonable accommodation in terms of rentals and so on through the senior welfare and resilience unit.”

The City MP also acknowledged the broader challenges facing the nation, particularly in terms of housing: “I don’t think it’s any secret that we have a housing challenge, but this administration has a housing plan, and that is through the housing revolution, through the Ministry of Housing as we seek to build more houses in Barbados.”

As the community looks to the future, Lane stressed the need for a comprehensive approach to disaster preparedness and risk mitigation. “We had a shift with the fire station. That is something that they were very concerned about,” he said, referring to residents’ concerns about the relocation of the Bridgetown fire station from Probyn Street on the area’s western end to make way for the Golden Square Freedom Park. A new fire station being built on Pine North-South Boulevard is 1.4 miles away. Tenders were called in from the fire service’s Pinelands headquarters, the Bridgetown Port and Arch Hall station.

Lane also highlighted the importance of maintaining and improving access to fire hydrants, suggesting that hydrants should be “pinned” so that firefighters can quickly locate them during emergencies. Regular flushing and maintenance of these hydrants were also discussed as potential measures to enhance fire safety.