Fire strikes in Cay Hill
Three houses, seven vehicles and garage burn ~
PHILIPSBURG--Seven vehicle owners lost their cars, two families lost their homes and a third house was partially damaged in a massive fire that started at a garage in the Cay Hill area in the vicinity of Le Grand Marché, Wednesday around 10:30am.
The fire resulted in police having to reroute traffic coming from Cole Bay and St. Peters, as the road was occupied by fire trucks and other emergency vehicles.
Senior Fire Officer Marco London said the fire had already completely engulfed one of the houses, believed to be owned by the garage operator, by the time they arrived on the scene.
The Fire Department responded with four fire trucks and 20 fire fighters, including off-duty firemen, after first hearing that Le Grand Marché was on fire.
London said no one knew for sure what had caused the fire. The garage operator said he had left the garage for a short time and had seen the fire on his return. London said it had been an extremely dangerous situation for the firemen because the garage had many flammable items.
He said a small oxygen tank had exploded during the fire. Other oxygen tanks had to be removed carefully to prevent further explosions that could have been fatal.
London also said there had been little problem getting water, although the nearest hydrant had been about 400 metres away. There were no injuries, as the occupants of the houses were able to leave quickly.
Inspectors from ROB visited the scene and expressed concerns that the garage operator was not in compliance with the necessary safety measures needed for operating a garage and did not have a hindrance permit.
Head of the Inspection Department of Public Works Henry Ellis said the garage owner had been warned on several occasions to complete several steps, which he had failed to do. He said that although the garage owner had applied for a hindrance permit, it could not be granted because of these concerns.
Several people with vehicles being worked on at the mechanic shop may not be reimbursed, because the garage was uninsured and some of the cars had third party insurance only.
Ellis said there were still many garages that had not complied with requests to secure hindrance permits and the Inspection Department would start issuing fines and could take the operators to court.
According to Ellis, the owner of the property that was being used by the garage operator is also partly responsible for the garage owner’s practices, especially as it concerns more than 20 other vehicles stored on the property waiting to be repaired.
He said these vehicles posed serious safety threats, as people sometimes hid in them waiting for victims and stole parts from them, and the vehicles rotted where they were and the place became a dumpsite.
A fine will probably be issued to the property owner, who will be visited by the inspectors this week.
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