MONTEGO BAY, St James — A lead fire investigator has suggested that smoke detectors be installed at the fire-plagued Old Shoe Market in St James.

He has also pointed to the role that overloaded and illegal electrical connections, combined with an unwise choice of building material and method have played in the frequent fires at the popular vending area.

Since October last year there have been three fires at the location; one of which left 54 shops destroyed. The other two were smaller blazes that damaged a total of four shops this year. Fire investigator in St James, District Officer O’Neill Kerr said those fires were caused by electrical issues.

“The investigation unravelled startling data that suggested unmetered, illegal and unregulated usage of electricity and electrical appliances,” he said as he gave details of a September 4 fire.

He was speaking during Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation.

The firefighter explained that the electrical load in one of the shops was enormous and that was what triggered the fire. Ten days later, the fire department was called to another shop fire and that too, Kerr said, was caused by electrical issues.

“The symptoms are the same; the indicators suggest the same,” he noted.

He said the October 2023 incident is still being investigated, but stressed that the construction method and material used contributed significantly to the fire’s spread.

“There were several contributing factors that resulted in the number of shops being affected by the fire, but I will mention two,” he said.

“One is the building construction, and two [is] the schematic design or the layout; major factors. These factors facilitated a progressive heat transfer process hence several recommendations were deemed necessary and are documented in the final report,” he said.

The document speaks to measures that can prevent improper use of electricity.

“One of the recommendations is to ensure that the proper regulation and distribution of electricity to shops are enforced,” said Kerr.

Regarding smoke detectors, he pointed out that “these provide audible alarms when activated by smoke particles in the air”.

Turning his attention to how the shops are constructed, the fire expert called for greater attention to the material used.

“The recommendation is for approved fire-rated materials to be used that provide a greater protection to its occupants and contents,” Kerr explained.

“Some of these materials that are being used in construction do not have any fire rating and I implore the relevant agencies and departments to look into how best we can look towards the future in ensuring that if there is a fire related situation in shop A, the building material will be [of] a standard so that it can manage and contain that fire without quickly spreading. Because these were some of the major factors that allowed so many shops to be destroyed,” he stressed.

Kerr also urged the corporation to be vigilant in its supervision of how the shops are designed.

“We need to design an effective schematic of the building to improve the means of ingress and egress,” he said.

“This is critical to our fire ground operation because if the space is so tight for the ease of traffic and for firefighters to effectively do our jobs — and even for the persons to commute in that space on a day-to-day basis — we need to look into how we design these public spaces,” he said.

Some of the shops damaged by an October 2023 fire at the Old Shoe Market in Montego Bay.

District Officer O’Neill Kerr, fire investigator in St James, speaking during Thursday’s meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation.