ALBERT TOWN, Trelawny — A fire which left a three-week-old baby dead on Monday afternoon has caused Councillor Lloyd Gillings (JLP, Albert Town Division) to renew his call for a fire unit to be stationed in south Trelawny.

“We (community) have had several meetings with the Fire Brigade to at least park a unit at Albert Town so when there is a fire it can save lives,” Gillings told the Observer West. “If there was one (fire unit) in the area it sure would have saved the life of the infant, so we are appealing to the relevant authorities to look into this matter urgently.”

The police were up to yesterday questioning the mother of the dead baby. Her two-year-old son also sustained burns in the fire which devastated her two-bedroom board and concrete home. The surviving child has been admitted to the Percy Junor Hospital in Manchester.

The Observer West learnt that the fire started after the 43-year-old housewife went to purchase an item at a shop, nearly a mile from her house, leaving the two infants alone.

The Ulster Spring Police say that at about 2:15 pm, residents saw fire coming from the house and called the police. The Christiana Fire Department put out the blaze. It is believed that the two-year old escaped the inferno by climbing through a window.

The charred remains of the three-week-old were found on a burnt-out bed during cooling-down operations.

Locals say that when the fire unit arrived the house was already consumed by the blaze and the firefighters were only able to carry out cooling-down operations.

The fire was initially reported to the Falmouth Fire Department but was referred to the Christiana Fire Department “because of the proximity”, Deputy Superintendent of the Falmouth Fire Department Kevin Haughton disclosed.

Falmouth is approximately 31 miles from Albert Town, while Christiana, which lies on the border of Manchester and Trelawny, is about 18 miles away.