MANCHESTER, Jamaica — Firefighters are now conducting a cooling-down operation after fire gutted the top floor of a multi-storey house in Hope Village, Williamsfield, Manchester.

District Officer at the Jamaica Fire Brigade, Fitzroy Donaldson said the Mandeville Fire Station was called at 4:38 pm to the 26-room structure on Anthurium Close in Hope Village.

“The fire was confined between the ceiling and the roof. Shortly after the fire was exposed to oxygen, the roof collapsed. We brought into operation our jet lines to extinguish the fire. We had to put on a defensive approach to the fire. We managed to restrict the fire to the upper floor of the house,” he said.

He said the property was not insured, and the entire upper floor was gutted during the blaze.

Residents said work was being done to the roof of the building shortly before the fire started.

Eighteen firefighters, three fire trucks and a utility vehicle responded to the blaze.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.

— Kasey Williams