The number of victims from Saturday’s triple fires affecting Mahoe Drive, Greenwich Farm, and Majesty Gardens has risen to over 100, with the majority reportedly losing everything in the early morning blazes.

“The estimate is 40 families, – the houses are close, and most of them are burnt to nothing. Most of the persons have really lost everything,” Member of Parliament for Saint Andrew South West, Angela Brown Burke, told Observer Online while on the site of the Majesty Gardens fire.

“We’re looking for clothes, food, shelter, and housing to build back up. Some people don’t even have anywhere to stay—it is going to be a monumental task,” she stressed.
Burke noted that not only had personal effects, such as schoolbooks, clothes, and uniforms, been destroyed, but several tradespersons had also lost the tools that enabled them to earn a living.

“We are making an appeal to see, for some of the tools, if we can get people to get those back,” the MP said on Saturday, as government officials were in the midst of assessing the total damage.

Residents were also on site, picking through the rubble. One man, who had not been home at the time of the fire, stood beside his burnt-out refrigerator holding a pair of charred pants. He lamented,

“All a dem gone enuh, all a dem gone.”

Another resident, identified only as Jeffery, showed Observer Online burn wounds he received during the ordeal. A female family member, who identified herself as Jeffery’s caretaker, explained,

“He is mentally ill. I am the one who takes care of [him]. He was sleeping while I was working, so when the fire woke him, he tried to grab out some clothes, and the housetop fell in on him,” she said, pointing to the wails and swollen burns across Jeffery’s shoulder.

In the rebuilding process, residents say they want more sturdy homes. One woman, who did not appear on camera, said,

“Best thing to do is concrete-up down here. Too much board house. When one catch, everybody spread.”

Burke concurred, stating, “It really is a huge task to rebuild for the families who are here.”

Councillor for the Greenwich Farm Division, Karl Blake, said the main focus now was clearing the area of debris and building new units to provide shelter for the residents as quickly as possible. He told Observer Online that the fire on Mahoe Drive had been reported first and was quickly followed by the Majesty Gardens inferno. Firefighters then had to rush off to extinguish the final blaze.

“All of them are in the Greenwich Town Division, so it’s a hard task for me,” Blake said, adding,

“I am appealing to anyone who can assist.”