Posted by Kimberly on September 05, 2001 at 08:43:31:
In Reply to: Fire in Nassau - Beaumont House, et al. destroyed posted by K. Eva on September 05, 2001 at 08:08:10:
National disaster declared
fter fire guts Ministry
of Tourism, straw market
By PERRY SCAVELLA
Guardian Staff Reporter
Minister of Tourism Tommy Turnquest has declared "a National Disaster" in the wake of the massive fire destruction of the straw market, the Ministry of Tourism building and damage to buildings in the western portion of downtown Nassau.
And, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham promised that the Free National Movement government will be looking at how it might mitigate the loss of straw vendors goods in particular, and the extent to which commerce has been affected.
Meanwhile, the Royal Bahamas Police Force is reported to have a suspect in custody who is being questioned for arson.
According to eyewitnesses, about 3 p.m. the fire broke out at the bottom floor of the two-story straw market section. About two fire trucks battled the fire for about four hours. The Ministry of Tourism building comprised four floors in which the upper two floors are occupied by the Ministry of Tourism. Some witnesses said that they saw a man with dreadlocks who entered the market and threatened to set it on fire.
"A young rasta-looking-like fellow said that he would make an example and when he said, that he opened a bag of something and he threw something and then it was a ball of fire. But before that he had asked a lady to purchase some T-shirts and while the lady was getting the T-shirts he said those words and threw something," said a straw vendor of 33 years.
The fire destroyed The Ministry of Tourism, The Straw Market, Beaumont House, Chippies, The Colony Place and damaged the Pompey Museum. Several stores across the street from the fire sustained cracked windows and melted plastic from the searing heat that emanated from the blaze. During the fire, medical personnel reported that they had to treat some minor injuries but there were no deaths. A policeman and a fireman were injured during the event.
The inferno has displaced almost a thousand straw vendors who vigorously compete against each other for the tourist dollar.
Gazing in dismay at the smouldering fire, in dismay, Minister Turnquest noted that he had left the ministry around 2:25 p.m. to go to the British Colonial Hotel when the blaze erupted. He noted that there were reports circulating about the fire being started by an arsonist, but he could not comment on the matter at this time.
An obviously distraught Turnquest said that "This is a serious blow to the Ministry of Tourism to lose its building like this and even more so, to the straw vendors who would have lost hundred of thousands of dollars in goods."
Turnquest then recalled: "I remember my grand-mother, she never had any insurance for her goods and so the extent to which any of them would have any insurance I doubt that they would have any," Turnquest said. "It's a tremendous loss."
He said that the ministry would have to start back at ground zero.
Director-General of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace elaborated further on the fire from in the building, as he was working when someone alerted him that it was ablaze.
"We were working in the building when somebody said that there is fire and that we all should get out," he said. "We all left the building with some essential items and it quickly spread to something much larger. And it is very obvious that the people who will suffer the most is the people who come here everyday to earn their livelihoods," Vanderpool-Wallace said.
He added that all the records and files of the ministry are stored in computers in Miami and no information was lost. And, that someone will do a general assessment of the loss of merchandise that was destroyed by the fire.
"I know we are going to sit down first thing in the morning and start taking about some of those issues," Vanderpool-Wallace said.
He said that it was too early to tell what effect the fire will have on tourism in Nassau.
Thousands of people convened downtown to get a glimpse of the towering blaze as police squadrons cordoned off the area. The Police, the Defence Force, BEC and the Civil Aviation Authority were all involved in the fire fighting effort.
Cabinet Members were forced to cut-short their session, upon hearing of the destruction downtown. Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said that he witnessed the fire as he was heading back to Cabinet in the Churchill Building.
"I am very shocked at what has happened," the Prime Minister said. "The government will now give consideration to what steps we will take to deal immediately with the results of the fire and make some determinations."
He continued: "The Ministry of Tourism will speedily find alternate accommodations from which to operate. And we will be looking at how we might mitigate the loss of straw vendors' goods in particular and to see the extent to which commerce has been affected," Ingraham said.
An FNM "Dream Team" rally planned for last night was cancelled. Government ministers and other relevant persons will meet at the Colonial Hilton to map out a contingency plan to make the best of the situation and restore some of the losses.
: The fire is still burning at this hour, according to reports. Arson is not being ruled out at this time. There should be extensive coverage on the Nassau Guardian [www.thenassauguardian.com] and Bahama Journal websites tomorrow morning.
: The most disheartening thing about the pictures we are seeing is that there seemed to be no plan and little preparation for such an eventuality in the downtown area. Fire hydrants in the area did not seem to be functioning, and there was no use of tugboats etc to pump seawater onto the buildings from the harbour which is only feet away. Also the reporter is telling us that some of the historical artifacts from the Pompey Museum were stolen after they were safely removed from the building prior to its destruction.
: k.eva