“My home could have been saved”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS —Several families have been displaced after a massive blaze razed six homes and damaged four others at Jennie Street off Balfour Avenue for several hours yesterday.
Police advised that shortly after 3pm, the Fire Department responded to reports of a structural fire and met three structures engulfed in flames.
As firefighters and volunteers in the community fought to put out the fire, the flames spread across 10 structures.
ASP Audley Peters said six of the structures impacted by the blaze have been destroyed.
Peters said a woman in her 90s had to be taken to hospital for treatment due to smoke inhalation.
He said officials could not confirm the cause of the fire at this time.
However, residents in the tight-knight community told Eyewitness News that the fire started shortly after 2pm from what they believed were wooden pallets stacked up along each other on a vacant property.
The fire reportedly quickly grew faster and spread to neighboring houses, between both Jennie Street and Molly Street.
One resident, who lived across from the said when the fire first started, people in the area immediately began mobilizing, running along the street, knocking on doors, and trying to help one another.
“It was a community effort,” she said. “It was a sense of comradery and community”.
Some of the neighbors opened up their homes to the children, as parents tried to secure as many valuables as possible.
“It was scary because all of these places intertwine, depending on where the wind did blow, it could have been any one of us”, she said.
Andrew Griffin, a resident of nearly 60-years, said he is in shock after seeing his childhood home that his mother, now 96, built-in 1963.
Griffin said he was about to leave home when he was stopped by a neighbor, who told him that there was a fire growing on the side of his house — nearly 15 to 20 feet away from his home.
He said when he saw the flames, he knew it would be a “disaster” if the trees were caught.
He said he called the police to report the fire and moved quickly to get his mother out of the house.
Griffin said he and one of his neighbors had to lift up his mother – who uses a wheelchair — and carry her out of their home.
At that point, she had already inhaled smoke and had to be taken to the hospital.
The 73-year-old said the fire was still south of his home, but it was growing “out of control as several trees caught on fire and fell on top of the homes, which were built closely together.
Griffin said he and other neighbors attempted to throw water on the roofs to douse the fire as they waited for the fire engines to come, but the “heat was too much”.
“We had to abandon it,” he said.
Griffin said he and his nephew tried to get as much of their important belongings as they could, but were told by firefighters that they had to leave the structure.
He joked that while he was not able to save much of his possessions, he did save one plate of his Sunday dinner.
“I paid $15 for my lambchop and I was able to save one piece of it and two chicken”.
“…The rest get burn up but I manage to save one plate.”
He said although he watched his home burn, he felt “good to know that my mother and I are alive and my neighbors are alive. Things could be replaced but life can’t be replaced. We just have to start to rebuild all over again.”
Firefighters were able to control the blaze shortly after 5pm.
Several residents said they believe their homes could have been saved if only there were better water resources for the fire services.
Thomas Daxon said he rushed home from work around 3pm after his wife called him and told him that there was a fire threatening to burn the house down.
Daxon said when he arrived, the entire corner was filled with smoke as flames rose from the homes next to his house.
He said his wife and grandson had already safely left the structure, adding at the time, his home had not caught on fire.
Daxon said he was hopeful that the firetruck would make it; however, there were challenges with the water pressure and it fizzled out.
He said he watched his boat burn and could not do anything about it because he was told by fire officials not to move it as the fire spread.
Daxon said his poodle also perished in the fire, after running into the home seeking safety.
He said he wasn’t aware the dog had reentered the home before it was too late.
The mechanic by trade said he was unsure what will happen next as he had not fully processed the ordeal.
However, Daxon said he knows that his family will need help, especially given the hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everything I had gone,” he said.
“My boat what I used to bring an income, that gone.”
Daxon said while he may be able to afford a short-term stay somewhere for his family and can rely on family members, he does not want to become a burden.
Daxon added that he is thankful and grateful that he and his neighbors survived the ordeal with their lives.
Police could not say how many people were impacted by the blaze and could not say how many individuals have been displaced.
“This community is a unique community where a property may have more than one dwelling on it, whether it be an official or unofficial home,” Peters said.
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