MONTEGO BAY, St James — Since the start of the year over 40 major fires have been recorded in St James, incidents which have left two people dead, 109 — including 49 children — homeless and damage amounting to nearly $200 million.

Without its intervention, albeit with limited resources, the St James Fire Department says the estimated damage would have been closer to over $1 billion.

It is a situation that has the head of the department, Superintendent Dolphin Doeman, gravely concerned.

“In recent times we have had a spate of fires, particularly in Paradise Row, King Street, William Street… in that general area. And so for us it is a cause for concern,” Superintendent Doeman told the Jamaica Observer West in an exclusive interview yesterday.

In the latest reported blaze, on Friday, June 27, a two-apartment building was razed reportedly by a candle which was left unattended in the Paradise Row section of Montego Bay.

The loss from that blaze — the third outbreak in Paradise Row since the start of the year — was estimated at $2 million.

Prior to that, fire swept through a seven-house tenement yard in the wee hours of Saturday, May 10, leaving 27 people, including 11 children, homeless.

Five days after that incident, a fire believed to have been the result of an electrical short circuit razed a section of the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. Then, subsequent to that, there was an incident at a Montego Bay school, as well as the burning of the roof of a commercial building on St James Street.

Like Doeman, PNP councillor for the Montego Bay South Division Suzette Brown expressed concern over the fiery incidents which have recently dogged her division. About 10 major fires, including the three in Paradise Row, have been reported there since the start of 2014.

“For some time now I’ve been gravely concerned about the spate of fires in Montego Bay, with the majority occurring in the Montego Bay South Division, of which I’m the local government representative.

“Since the start of my tenure, I’m aware of some 16 fires, which have resulted in millions of dollars in damage,” Brown bemoaned.

She expressed particular concern for the 120 people who have been displaced over time, “some of whom find it more challenging to get back on their feet”.

“What we have is a situation where the Government, and in particular the local authority, is required to give greater levels of assistance to these persons at a time when resources are limited,” Brown noted.

She disclosed that the Atlanta/Montego Bay Sister Cities Committee, headed by Chairman Fred Smith, will be leading a small delegation to Atlanta later this month to finalise plans with the Atlanta Fire Department to assist its St James counterpart in its mitigation and capacitybuilding activities.

“The committee, which is an organ of Council, has invited two members of the St James Fire Department to Atlanta where they will be receiving training to return and impart,” Brown said.

Members of the Atlanta Fire Department also plan to journey to Jamaica to assist the MoBay firefighters.

“In the meantime, we at the St James Parish Council continue to appeal to our corporate stakeholders and individuals to donate nonperishable items, including food, clothing and household items, to the Disaster Preparedness Unit, in order that it is in a constant state of readiness to offer assistance to fire victims when called upon to do so,” Brown told the Observer West.

Superintendent Doeman, meanwhile, is cautioning residents to be careful when dealing with fire.

“We would want to implore citizens, householders, occupants of buildings in those areas and generally in St James to be as careful as they possibly can,” the head honcho of the St James Fire Department appealed.

“We discourage the use of open fire within the town areas. We wouldn’t want people to leave candles unattended. These could cause very devastating consequences.”

He noted that the Jamaica Fire Brigade has traditionally embarked on community and safety programmes in schools and community organisations as part of the strategy to spread safety messages.

“For the past seven years we have implemented this drive to include general householders in the parish. So we are continuing in that vein to educate, sensitise householders on these issues,” Superintendent Doeman said.

He also announced that after a hiatus last year, the St James department will again partner with other stakeholders to put on a summer camp at Coral Gardens Community Centre between July 12 and 19. The summer camp started in 2009.

“This year we will be having the Summer Life Safety Camp for children between the ages of five up to 16. We want to start with a church service the Sunday before,” Superintendent Doeman said.

“We are targeting children from various communities and children’s homes. At these camps we not only highlight fire safety and road safety; general safety is included.”