May 2000 Table
of Contents
PIGEON PEA FIRE
Fire broke out shortly after noon on 31st March in the Haitian district of Marsh Harbour
called Pigeon Pea. Twenty houses were destroyed and another seven left uninhabitable
before the fire could be brought under control, leaving 130 people homeless. The
cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Within minutes of the outbreak of fire, flames were thrown 40 feet into the air and
thick black smoke billowed from the conflagration. Helpless to fight the blaze, residents
of nearby houses removed what they could before the fire spread to them. People ran with matresses, furniture and bundles of clothing to a safe area on the fringe of
the community.
Fire engines from the Marsh Harbour and Dundas Town Volunteer Fire Departments were
quickly on hand but were unable to fight the fire until hoses had been threaded between
dozens of buildings standing only a few feet apart. According to Rory Russell, a
local businessman, the fire was so intense that by the time an engine had discharged
its water reserves, the fire caught back again. A long hose was finally attached
to a fire hydrant on Don MacKay Boulevard, Marsh Harbour's main road.
When the fire broke out, one elderly Haitian woman was overcome by the situation She
was taken away from the area of the fire and tended to by Nancy McDaniel of Guana
Cay. She was transferred to the local clinic by Trauma One, Abaco's volunteer ambulance
service. Later in the evening she was air evacuated to Nassau for treatment. A man
was also taken to the local clinic by Trauma One, with cuts from retrieving household
goods through a broken window. He was treated and discharged.
As news of the fire spread, Haitians who lived in the Pigeon Pea area left their places
of employment and schools to rush home and assist with the evacuation of furniture
and clothing.
Acting Fire Chief John Hall of the Marsh Harbour Volunteer Department said the number
of houses destroyed could not be accurately counted because of the haphazard layout,
but the number was about 20. He said that ten volunteers came over from nearby Man-O-War Cay and Hope Town once they heard about the severity of the fire. Altogether,
about thirty volunteers fought the fire, Mr Hall said.
Bad as the situation was, it could have been worse. A strong breeze that had been
blowing died down for a few hours, otherwise the fire might have been far more widespread.
The Haitian communities of The Mud and Pigeon Pea both lie in a contained area in
the centre of Marsh Harbour. Pigeon Pea lies to the west of the old primary school
while The Mud lies to the east. Although some of the structures in both areas are
substantial with tiled roofs, the majority are very basic. Many households use inherently dangerous
kerosene stoves for cooking purposes. There are no sewerage facilities for either
community.
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has set aside an area near to Joe's Creek, some 15
miles from Marsh Harbour, for low cost housing for the Haitian community of Abaco.
He also expressed hope that Haitians would invest in lots in the new Central Abaco
Heights sub-division which is only a few hundred yards away from Pigeon Pea.
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