A shocking act of alleged arson has rocked a rural community in St Mary, Jamaica, leaving a local industrial compound damaged and a 59-year-old woman in police detention. The incident unfolded at the Surrey and Aggregate premises in the Georgia district of the parish around 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, according to official law enforcement accounts.
The compound’s on-site caretaker, who first encountered the woman before the fire broke out, told investigators she was behaving aggressively and disruptively on the property. After multiple attempts to convince her to leave the premises peacefully failed, the caretaker made the decision to travel to the nearest police station in Annotto Bay to file a report and request assistance.
When the caretaker returned to the Surrey and Aggregate compound alongside law enforcement, they discovered both targeted office buildings were already engulfed in raging flames. In addition to the structural damage, two privately owned vehicles — a pickup truck and a standard passenger car — were also caught in the blaze, suffering significant damage.
Emergency response teams from the Annotto Bay Police Department and the local fire service quickly deployed to the scene to contain the fire and begin documenting evidence. By the time first responders secured the area, the suspect 59-year-old woman was taken into custody without further incident. Authorities have confirmed that formal investigations into the motive behind the alleged attack are currently ongoing, with no additional details on potential charges released to the public as of the latest update.