WESTERN BUREAU — Investigators were, up to yesterday afternoon, still trying to determine the source of Thursday’s fire at Barnett Lane in Montego Bay that left 33 people homeless and an estimated $2.5 million in damages.

However, Deputy Superintendent Dave McLaughlin, who has responsibility for the Westmoreland Fire Department, told the Observer yesterday that he should know by Monday, what caused the fire.

“I am still checking to find the exact cause of the fire,” McLaughlin said. “I have to talk to a few more persons (from the area).”

Meanwhile, Senior Deputy Superintendent in charge of the St James Fire Department, Allan Goodwill, told the Observer that 10 firefighters and two fire officers responded to the blaze at 6:02 pm Thursday.

When they got to the scene, however, the two affected houses, in which 20 adults and 11 children lived, were already engulfed in flames.

Four fire units, three of which came from the Montego Bay fire station and the other from the substation at Ironshore, responded to the blaze, which the firefighters battled for about 90 minutes.

Nothing was saved, but the four persons who were in the house at the time escaped unharmed.

“The operation went well,” said Goodwill, who was obviously grateful that firefighters were able to prevent further loss that, he estimated, would have amounted to $15 million.