Firemen faced stern criticism last night after a blaze they seemed to have under control erupted into a destructive inferno, ravaging six businesses in a Nassau shopping plaza.
Damage running into hundreds of thousands of dollars was left in its wake as the fire raged through a string of commercial premises off Mackey Street.
Crowds watching the blaze were left dumbfounded when what appeared to be a “routine” fire somehow managed to gather momentum and rage on for eight hours.
Last night, fire chiefs admitted they were “extremely challenged” in trying to contain the fire as it consumed several businesses at the Super Value plaza on Saturday afternoon.
Destroyed in the blaze were Sun Manufacturing, Ad Works, Discount Mart, Fashion Hall, the Paint Place, and the Delicatessen of Super Value. The foodstore itself sustained only smoke and water damage.
According to Walter Evans, police press liaison officer attached to the Fire Department, two firefighters had to be taken to hospital for injuries associated with the blaze, which reports say began shortly before 11am on Saturday.
Mr Evans said heavy metal beams connecting the various sections of the building acted as conduits for the fire to spread from one part of the building to the next.
Also, because of the metal roofing, and intense heat inside; firefighters found it impossible to fight the blaze from either inside or outside the building.
Unconfirmed reports claim that the fire was started by someone welding at the back of Sun Manufacturing.
However. Mr Evans could not confirm this at press time, stating that they were still investigating the cause and estimating the cost of damage.
Initially, the blaze was thought to be under control at about 2pm, as only white smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of Sun Manufacturing in the elbow of the building. Earlier, thick black smoke had wafted westwards over Nassau, though no flames were visible.
Crowds of onlookers began to disperse when it seemed that firemen had tamed the blaze.
However, when The Tribune arrived at the scene for the second time at 7pm, Discount Mart, the Fashion Hall and the Paint Place were completely engulfed in flames.
Six fire trucks and one from the Airport Authority stood ready to do battle. But firefighters, who were sitting on coolers or make-shift benches, admitted that at this point there was nothing they could do. “Have you ever heard of the perfect storm?” one officer asked, “because this was the perfect fire.”
However, residents living nearby remained critical of the fire department, for their handling of the incident.
One resident, Denis Knowles, who lives not more than 20 feet from the western wall of Sun Manufacturing, said with a little more “common sense” the fire could have been limited to a smaller section of the plaza.
“The fire was never under control. It was a total lack of control. That big machine (excavator) could have broken a hole in the roof and stopped the fire from spreading. It should never have been allowed to spread that far.
“But how can anything be under control if they allow the shopping centre to burn down? They will all be given medals tomorrow instead of being chastised.
“This was a total debacle. They had the big machines there, and the water, but they didn’t know what to do. There didn’t seem to be any commonsense.
“The really upsetting part was watching the fire work its way up through the entire building. It seems like they didn’t realise they had to get ahead of the blaze to cut it off,” he said.
Around 9pm The Tribune saw firefighters attempting to disrupt the advance of the fire to the southern section of Super Value.
However, encountering “live wires”, Mr Evans stated that they had to seek assistance from BEC to cut the power in the entire area.
Assistance was also sought from Water and Sewerage, as water pressure in the area was “insufficient” as crews tried to contain the blaze.
Mr Evans added: “Officers were also challenged because there were a number of propane tanks at the western causeway, so there were additional risks they had to consider.
“Also, there were signs of building collapse so officers inside had to retreat, and fight the fire from the exterior.
“No human being could have worked in those conditions. The visible flames were controlled. The beams that connect to Fashion Hall were heated from the interior because of the super heated temperatures. So, as such, the heat passed on and caused the fire to spread in other sections of the building,” he said.
Mr Evans reported that officers were at the scene throughout Sunday up until press time last night tackling small “smoke pockets”.
By PAUL G TURNQUEST Tribune Staff Reporter
