MANCHESTER, Jamaica — A destructive overnight fire ripped through two commercial properties on Mandeville’s Ward Avenue on Saturday, leaving two local entrepreneurs facing combined losses topping $20 million and disrupting utility service for dozens of nearby businesses.
Emergency dispatchers at the Mandeville Fire Station got the alert at approximately 4:15 a.m., confirming that two adjacent establishments — Newsman Fry Chicken, a quick-service fried chicken restaurant, and No Traction Chill Spot, a local neighborhood bar — were engulfed in flames.
Responding crews worked quickly to corral the spread of the fire, completing full cooling-down operations and extinguishing the blaze entirely just after 6 a.m. In initial assessments released after the fire was put out, the Jamaica Fire Department pegged total property and asset losses at roughly $20 million.
Adeka Miller, the owner of Newsman Fry Chicken, told reporters his eatery had only been open to the public for one month before the fire hit. He estimated his personal losses alone come out to around $10 million.
Miller explained he first got word of the emergency around 4:25 a.m., when a caller notified him flames were erupting from the bar next door to his restaurant. When he arrived on scene, he initially thought only the bar had been completely destroyed, with his restaurant suffering only partial external damage. A closer look inside confirmed the entire restaurant had been gutted.
“I lost everything. I would say about $10 million, including equipment, stock and cash, was in there; it is a great loss, a great blow,” Miller said. The new restaurant employed four local workers, leaving their employment status uncertain in the wake of the disaster.
As of Saturday, officials have not confirmed a cause for the fire, with active investigations still ongoing to pinpoint what sparked the blaze.