Treasure Cay Fire - no one hurt

[abacomah]

AbacoWilly and I were awakened around 3:45 AM to a condo fire at Royal Palms. It started in the first upper unit in the first building to the left of Mariner's Cove looking out into the harbour. Four units are completely destroyed and the last two in the building have water damage and may not be structurally sound.

No one was hurt although there were people in some of the units. A cat was lost and as you can imagine, many personal belongings.

I have numerous photos and will sort through them later. It's time to get cleaned up and focus on some other things. It has been a long morning.

We will tell much more later but I'd like to say the units out of Marsh Harbour - Abaco Crash Resucue and Marsh Harbour Fire Department did an exceptiponal job when they got on site. The engine from Treasure Cay airport also responded. Within a short time they contained the fire and minimized additional losses. The Marsh Harbour trucks just left within the past last 30 min. They stayed until they were sure it would not restart.

For those of you directly affected, please PM me and I will send you photos before they are posted on this board. I will, as connections allows, post some resized photos here and post all photos at full size on a website. I am also sending all photos to Marsh Harbour Fire Department. I have already given all photos to a Treasure Cay detective.

As seen in several dramatic movies, a fire of this magnitude takes on a life of it's own and definitely needs to be treated and addressed with respect. I have a deepened respect for the job of these rescue men & women and am thankful for what they do.

Also have lessons learned....immediate one for all who visit or reside in Abaco - VHF Channel 80. Our only form of communication at 3:45am was portable VHF. The condo we are staying in does not have a phone. We hailed Channel 16 with "fire in the marina". We were told later Channel 80 is monitored out of Marsh Harbour with a base unit that would pick up a portable in Treasure - Please note - Channel 80 for emergencies.

More Later,

[abacomah]

First pics 3:45AM.

AM

[chestnc]

Looks like a huge fire. Glad no one was hurt. Let us know if you hear how it started.

[abacomah]

The fire was huge. As I said in my first post, the police have all photos including the first ones which clearly indicated the initial source. It's time to focus on the response of the community. It has been outstanding. My post and pictures over the next several days will focus on just that - the community. The voluteer fire fighters, the friends of home owners who were not on the island, the friends and home owners that were on the island, helping each other. Also, the people who weren't directly affected who helped with simple things like coffee, tea, sandwiches, Florence cinnamon buns, etc.

I have heard this evening storage units have been secure and all owners directly affected that were on the island have a place to stay. This is the Abaco Community spirit.

As soon as I sort through them (over 150 photos) I will post pics of the seven men and women from the Marsh Harbour Fire Department and those from Marsh Harbour Rescue.

BTW, they are also soon having a fundraiser. This is not meant to take anything away from HTVFR. This is just to let you know there is a need throughout Abaco for this type of support. I will post details soon.

So much for hitting the sack early. With very heavy eyelids I still can tell you "I love this place - it is special .... Good Night" http://coconuttelegraph.net/forums/images/icons/icon12.gif

[doctor's orders]

Abacomah: Thank you so much for posting the info and pics of the fire at Royal palm condo. Please post more pics and any other info on the fire and what will be done with the royal palm units that were burnt. Thanks again.

[doctor's orders]

Abacomah: I own a unit in Royal Palm jst a couple of condos down from the fire. If you could send me some pics, I would appreciate them Thanks kenritt@yahoo.com

[Moody Blues]

I own a unit in atlantis directly across from the fire. Please send photos to danny@dannymoody.com for my records.

Thanks

[PatW]

Just heard that they think the fire was set deliberately and a man has been arrested and taken to Nassau. Anybody heard anything like that in TC?




The fire was huge. As I said in my first post, the police have all photos including the first ones which clearly indicated the initial source. It's time to focus on the response of the community. It has been outstanding. My post and pictures over the next several days will focus on just that - the community. The voluteer fire fighters, the friends of home owners who were not on the island, the friends and home owners that were on the island, helping each other. Also, the people who weren't directly affected who helped with simple things like coffee, tea, sandwiches, Florence cinnamon buns, etc.

I have heard this evening storage units have been secure and all owners directly affected that were on the island have a place to stay. This is the Abaco Community spirit.

As soon as I sort through them (over 150 photos) I will post pics of the seven men and women from the Marsh Harbour Fire Department and those from Marsh Harbour Rescue.

BTW, they are also soon having a fundraiser. This is not meant to take anything away from HTVFR. This is just to let you know there is a need throughout Abaco for this type of support. I will post details soon.

So much for hitting the sack early. With very heavy eyelids I still can tell you "I love this place - it is special .... Good Night" http://coconuttelegraph.net/forums/images/icons/icon12.gif

[HTVFR]

Fires are devastating no matter where they happen but in Abaco the aftermath tends to be more severe because resources are limited and the houses themselves are often tinder dry.

Now is a really good time for everybody who owns a condo or home in Abaco to ask themselves these questions:-

1) Do I have a smoke detector in every bedroom ?

2) Do I have an additional smoke detector in high risk areas such as kitchens or laundry rooms ?

3) Do I have at least one 10lb fire extinguisher (http://www.amerex-fire.com/Literature/abc.pdf) per bedroom ?

(Please don't waste your money on those little fire extinguishers they sell in hardware stores - they are useless for anything except a frying pan fire).

If the answer to ANY of the above questions is "No", you need to do something about it NOW.

As a side note, if you rent your house or condo you need to pay particular attention to these items. Despite the fact that your rental unit is in the Bahamas, if you are a US resident, you could face civil prosecution in the US Courts if you have been negligent in providing adequate fire protection.

In the case of larger rental houses (some advertise on this Board that they can sleep 16 persons), your liability insurance may be inadequate to cover the Courts decision on personal injury damages.

I can almost hear the plantiff's lawyer in court ..

"So lets get this right Mr. Smith .... you built a luxury house in the Bahamas for half a million dollars, put in a pool for $40,000 and a generator for $15,000; you rent this same house for $2,500 per week ... and lets get this right Mr. Smith .... you say you could not afford $200 in smoke detectors and $500 in fire extinguishers ... and one adult and two young people died as a result ?"

Think about it.

[rgroseclose]

In over thirty three years in the Fire Restoration Business there is one thing that causes more Fires than anything. Candles. Please be very careful with them.

[wbruce53]

Please send photos wbruce@suscom-maine.net

[Salvor]

I have been asked by Kary Firstbrook and Geordie Trusler to thank all those in the Abaco Community that helped their parents, Lorna & Bill Firstbrook, following and during the fire that occured in Royal Palms.
Kary tried to log on to the notice board but was unable to do it from up North.

Regards,

Salvor

[mermaid]

We have found the "new AOL" has some security features that block log in and staying logged in. Close that and open Internet Explorer (or whatever browser you use) and go to abacomessageboard.com. If they still have problems, let us know.

Saw Bill & Lorna yesterday to give them some ideas about costs of furnishings for insurance. The Raynors have kindly let them stay in their guest house on Ocean Blvd and it's a beautiful place. They need that after the stress they have been through with the fire.