JDF extinguishes Up Park Camp fire as Jamaica probes islandwide blackout

The Jamaica Defence Force says firefighters put out a blaze that started in the barracks section of Up Park Camp on Friday night, while Energy Minister Daryl Vaz has ordered a probe into a separate islandwide electricity outage that left Jamaica without power for nearly two hours.

The JDF said the fire began about 7:41 p.m. Its own fire unit and crews from Rollington Town, Half-Way Tree, York Park, Trench Town and Spanish Town responded and brought the flames under control. The cause has not yet been established, and investigators are expected to enter the affected area once it is declared safe.

Reports of widespread power cuts surfaced shortly after 8 p.m. Friday. Vaz later said JPS president Hugh Grant reported that generating stations were being restarted and some customers were coming back on supply. JPS, which serves about 700,000 customers in Jamaica, said it had activated its incident command centre and was investigating the system failure.

In St Catherine, the Independent Commission of Investigations is probing the fatal police shooting of an unidentified man in Portmore on Thursday night. Police reported that members of the St Catherine South Quick Response Unit were on patrol in Gilbert Avenue, Dunbeholden, about 8:45 p.m. when they saw a man allegedly carrying a firearm. A chase and reported gunfight followed, and the man was fatally shot inside a house. An illegal gun was reportedly recovered.

In St James, police are searching for a suspect known as “Echo” after 27-year-old Chinoi Stevens, also called “Box Head”, of Phoenix Road, Summer Hill, was shot dead about 6 p.m. Wednesday. Senior Superintendent Eron Samuels said an earlier dispute between the men had not been reported. Police later intercepted a vehicle on Springfield main road; the suspect escaped, while a 9mm Browning pistol believed to be the murder weapon was found. The driver was detained for questioning.

The Senate has also approved an $11.4 billion withdrawal from the National Housing Trust for budget support. Government business leader Kamina Johnson Smith rejected opposition arguments that the move would undermine housing, saying the trust would not be damaged financially or institutionally.

In the St Catherine Parish Court, 25-year-old Janelle Warren was granted $1.5 million bail after being charged with obtaining money by false pretence. She is accused of collecting $1.4 million for land she allegedly did not own. The case returns to court on July 17.