Sun | May 19, 2024

Update | Loss from Portland guest house fire estimated to be millions

Published:Monday | May 9, 2022 | 10:38 AM
The cause of the fire is still being investigated. The incident has displaced guests. - Gareth Davis Snr photo.

Loss from last night's fire that destroyed a 17-bedroom guest house on Titchfield Hill in Port Antonio, Portland is estimated to be in the millions.

It is not yet known if the building was insured.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

The incident has displaced guests.

Sixty-seven-year-old caretaker at Clifford's Guest House, formerly Scotia Guest House, George 'Bermuda Star' Brown told our news team that he was in a room when he heard a woman crying out and he rushed to render assistance.

Brown said he discovered that the property was on fire.

“So mi fly di door and by di time me run round and say mi a go try save something, di whole place was covered by fire. Everything happened so fast and mi did a try fi grab a pants and a shirt but mi just couldn't reach them. Everything mi own burn up,” he said.

“All 17 bedrooms just burn out and all the furniture dem just bun up so. Mi cah believe say this happen and right now mi feel like mi a go have a heart attack,” Brown added.

According to Brown, hours before the fire, four persons had checked in, with two of them leaving the property to attend a Mother's Day function in Port Antonio.

The fire started shortly after 9 pm.

Two fire units from Port Antonio responded and upon arrival, it was discovered that the building, which is part wood and part concrete, was engulfed.

Reinforcement was called in, with a unit from Buff Bay joining the operation.

It took almost two hours to extinguish the flames, which was followed by a cooling down operation.

- Gareth Davis Snr. 

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