KINGSTON, Jamaica – At least 11 people, including children are now homeless after a large fire gutted several houses in Jones Town, Kingston Friday afternoon.

Preliminary reports are that sometime after 12 noon, the fire was noticed coming from one of the dwellings. An alarm was raised and residents tried to put out the blaze, to no avail.

The fire brigade was called and several units responded and the fire was contained. However, the houses were already engulfed.

Daton Foster, a fire victim, said she lost everything. The inconsolable woman said among the top of her worries is her children.

“I lost everything. I’m just worried about my children,” she told the OBSERVER ONLINE.

“I’m just worried about getting help for my children. God sees and he knows, but the greatest thing is that we have life today,” she added.

Another victim, who gave her name as Beverly, said she was in the bathroom when she noticed something was wrong. She stated that she tried wetting the other dwelling that was on fire with water to save her home, but it was not enough.

“I was in the bathroom bathing and I didn’t even have on any clothes. I heard my next door neighbour Stacey screaming that fire is in the other girl’s room by the front. By the time I started putting on my clothes fully on me, I saw people running with sand and water to throw in her house. But when I looked through the door, the fire was raging and all I could do was tell her to call the fire brigade, but it seemed like she panicked because instead of calling them, she was just running up and down,” she recalled, adding that her neighbour’s gas cylinder caused a loud explosion.

Beverly only managed to salvage her cell phone, documents and the suit of clothes she had on, adding that among the lost items were two sewing machines, a three-piece couch, fridge and a stove.