Falmouth King Street Fire Destroys Businesses, Leaves Two Homeless

A blaze tore through part of King Street in Falmouth, Trelawny, on Monday, wiping out several businesses and a house close by.

Roland Walters, acting assistant commissioner for Area 2 of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, said firefighters received the emergency call at about 11:00 a.m. He said one section of the building was already burning fiercely when the crew got to the location.

Walters said three units were sent in and firefighters spent about three hours bringing the blaze under control. He said, "We had two bars here, a restaurant, and a textile store. It means then that the fire load would have been very, very heavy, which would render this fire very active. We are comfortable now that there is no more risk to life nor property and we will continue our investigation as to determine the cause of the blaze."

He also said the fire left two people homeless, but it is still too early to put a figure on the damage. Walters added that investigators are still working to determine what started the fire, and officials cannot yet say what the losses amount to, but the affected premises were completely destroyed.