WESTERN BUREAU – Fifty people were left homeless while four residents and a female firefighter were injured yesterday afternoon as a fire razed seven houses in the densely-populated inner-city community of Canterbury in Montego Bay, St James.

Firefighter Betty-Ann Rodney, who was overcome by smoke, was back on the job yesterday afternoon after being treated and released from hospital. None of the residents, who mostly suffered from smoke inhalation, sought medical treatment.

Twenty-two firefighters from the Ironshore and Barnett Street stations arrived in four fire units to fight the blaze. But the rugged terrain, high winds, the lack of fire hydrants and the closeness of the homes made it difficult for them to effectively control the fire.

“Access to this place was difficult. We had to fight the fire from across the gully until we cooled the buildings down because we couldn’t get close,” Assistant Superintendent Astley Dryden, who led the fire-fighting operations, told the Observer at the scene yesterday.

“We had to fight it from the high banks before we were able to climb down on the hoses to get near the houses,” he added.

Several residents helped fight the blaze which is said to have started at about 1:45 pm in a two-bedroom home. It quickly spread to the other houses.

Assistant Superintendent Dryden said that his men responded promptly to the distress call but when they arrived the buildings were already engulfed in flames.

Up to late yesterday, there was still no estimate of the damage, but the fire department had identified the cause of the fire as an electrical short-circuit.

The chaotic mix of homes that belong to a combination of squatters and legitimate home owners, the questionable electrical connections and the highly-flammable material used to build some of the homes have ensured that fires are not uncommon in the area commonly called 12 1/2 Upper King Street.

Almost two months ago, three Canterbury families were left homeless after a fire swept through their homes.

Most of the persons affected by yesterday’s fire lost all of their belongings.

Security officer Gretel Smith, one of those who lost everything, was just happy to be alive.

“I could have been dead because I was in the house sleeping,” she said. “Then I heard a strange sound and when I looked up I saw fire coming from the house next door and I rushed outside.”

Smith estimated her losses to be about $1 million, but there was no indication how much the other families had lost.