Fire crews responded to two separate blazes within 26 hours this week, leaving one home completely destroyed and a restaurant kitchen gutted as investigators work to determine the causes of both fires.
The first fire struck a residential property in English Harbour around 12:15 am on July 8. An anonymous caller alerted the Dockyard Police Station to flames near Wood Stock Boat Builders Work Shop on Dockyard Drive.
Inspector Lester Bagot, communications officer at the St. John’s Fire Station, confirmed that the All Saints Fire Station received the emergency call at midnight.
“An immediate response was made by the fire crew in the number 18 fire tender,” Inspector Bagot said. “On arrival at the scene the crew met a wooden structure on fire.”
The 20 x 50-foot wood and concrete structure was already fully engulfed when first responders arrived. Despite the fire crew’s efforts to control the blaze, the building and its contents were completely destroyed. Two tenants who were sleeping at the time in a northern bedroom managed to escape unharmed after they had been awakened by flames.
“Water was used from the fire tender to control and extinguish the fire,” Inspector Bagot reported. “The fire brigade is investigating the origin of the fire.”
Just over 24 hours later, a second fire broke out at a restaurant in Utopia Park. Reports are that smoke was seen coming from the Utopia Building around 2 a.m. on July 9.
The concrete structure, measuring approximately 6,000-square feet with a restaurant attached to its western side, was found with the kitchen area engulfed in flames. Fire crews from St John’s Fire Station responded with the No. 15 appliance and successfully extinguished the fire; however, the restaurant’s kitchen was completely destroyed.
The restaurant owner told investigators that the establishment had not been in operation for over two weeks prior to the fire. Unlike the English Harbour residence, this building had electricity connected.
No injuries were reported in either incident. The causes of both blazes remain unknown, with fire investigators working to determine their origins.
