ST MARY, Jamaica — Devastated by the loss of their shops and goods in an early morning fire, some vendors from the Highgate Market in St Mary say they do not expect much help to come their way.

The vendors based their expectation on what they say is the fact that only four of 13 shops damaged in a fire towards the back of the building in 2020 were repaired.

READ: WATCH: Fire guts Highgate Market in St Mary

Saturday’s fire damaged the stalls of more than 40 vendors. Among them is 27-year-old mother of one, Lola Brown who operated a restaurant and bar.

“I stock it out with about $30,000-odd worth of goods yesterday,” she told Observer Online.

Fitzroy Campbell, who has sold herbal products at the market for more than three years, puts his losses even higher.

“Devastated… I don’t know what to say because over $400,000 worth of medicine was destroyed,” he said dejectedly.

Others struggled to find words to describe their feelings amid the burnt out shell of what was once a thriving hub of commercial activity.

“We got burn out today; the bar, the barber, the cookshop. Everybody in the market lost everything,” said one woman who did not wish to provide her name.

A man who operated a chemical shop lamented, “Everything lost! Everything gone!”

According to Assistant Superintendent of the St Mary Fire Department, Andrew Wildman, they received a call for help at 4:41 am and initially responded with one unit each from Annotto Bay and Port Maria.

“Upon arrival, we recognised that the intensity of the fire required additional units, so we summoned a unit from Buff Bay and one from St Ann’s Bay. We worked to contain the fire, and managed to keep the fire in check at the market. Unfortunately, the market was extensively destroyed by fire,” said Wildman.

There is no fire station in Highgate, as Member of Parliament for St Mary Central Morais Guy noted from the scene of Saturday’s blaze. He believes more could have been salvaged if fire trucks did not have to source water outside the community as they fought the blaze. He used the opportunity to advocate for a fire station to be established in Highgate.

“I am happy that no lives were lost, but a significant loss in terms of economic activity has occurred. A lot of vendors have lost their goods because this was their Friday going into Saturday when there is the bulk of traffic in the market,” said Guy.

While investigations continue to determine the cause of the fire, Wildman on Saturday offered words of advice to those who operate commercial enterprises.

“Smoke detectors are recommended to business places as a way of detecting fires and alerting persons in close proximity. Fire extinguishers are also recommended as well to quickly put out a small fire. And then, in the more advanced stage, we have sprinkler systems with fire suppression systems [that can be useful] until help arrives,” he said.

-Davia Ellis