A devastating early morning fire has left a 2,000-square-foot building in Antigua and Barbuda completely destroyed, prompting local fire authorities to launch a public appeal for critical information to aid their investigation into the incident. The destructive blaze broke out along Old Parham Road, directly across from the popular M&M Service Station, in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, igniting just after 1 a.m. local time. According to official statements from Antigua and Barbuda Fire Department Public Relations Officer Inspector Lester Bagot, emergency dispatchers at the St. John’s Fire Station received the first alert of the fire at 1:07 a.m., triggering an immediate coordinated response from three separate fire units across the country. Three fire tenders were deployed to the scene: Engine 19 from the St. John’s Fire Station, Engine 21 from the Coolidge Fire Station, and Engine 18 from the All Saints Fire Station, with crews rushing to reach the site as quickly as possible to contain the spread of flames. When first responders arrived at the location, they encountered a catastrophic scene: the entire 40-by-50-foot structure was already fully engulfed in intense, uncontrolled flames that threatened to spread to nearby properties. Without delay, firefighting crews launched an aggressive containment and extinguishing operation, relying on water carried by their responding tenders to douse the blaze and prevent it from spreading beyond the burning building. Even with the rapid, coordinated response from multiple fire crews, the fire advanced too quickly for teams to save the structure. By the time the flames were fully extinguished, the building and every piece of content inside it had been reduced to rubble. Bagot confirmed that the building was not occupied at the time of the fire, as it was actively undergoing structural repairs. Fortunately, no civilians or first responders were injured during the blaze or subsequent firefighting efforts. Now, as investigators begin the complex work of tracing the fire’s origin and determining its exact cause, the Antigua and Barbuda Fire Department is turning to members of the public for assistance. Authorities are asking anyone who was in the Old Parham Road area around the time of the fire, noticed any unusual or suspicious activity near the building, or holds any other details that could advance the investigation to reach out to either the Antigua and Barbuda Fire Department or local police. Every piece of information, no matter how small it may seem, could help investigators finally uncover what led to the destructive fire.
Fire Department Seeks Public’s Help in Old Parham Road Blaze Investigation
