FIRE BREAKS UP SHOP LIME- NEWS ARTICLE
"I just see smoke!"
This was the reaction of St. Michael resident Everett Skeete after a fire broke out at RK's Bar in Well Gap, Cave Hill this evening where he was a patron.
Skeete said that he and a few of his friends were drinking beers when he noticed smoke coming from the kitchen area before leaping into action to out the flames.
"I just see fire. I just see smoke," he said. "I ran and tried to out the fire with my hose."
Bar operator, Artavis Pond, who injured his foot while trying to out the fire, said that he was alerted by a patron who saw smoke coming from the kitchen, and he immediately sprang into action to save his bar.
Resident Jeffrey Skeete, who helped to bring the fire under control, recalled how he noticed that something was on fire.
"We was at de bar drinking and then I see smoke coming from the kitchen. Quick so, the alarm went off and I hear 'ping, ping, ping,'" Skeete said.
He praised the firemen for their prompt response, adding that: "Them get hay in no time. As we call, them come," he said.
He pointed out that the men who lived in the area worked together to bring the fire under control until the firemen arrived.
"It was a community effort. It has brought people that don't even speak to each other back together, " a pleased Skeete said.
The proprietor’s brother, Terry Pond, who did not mince words about the incident, said the fire was a result of an employee's carelessness.
"He [Artavis] didn't even know that the fryer was on. She [employee] left the fryer on and gone long 'bout she business," a visibly upset Pond said.
Sub Officer, John Bowen, confirmed that the grease fire originated in the kitchen. Seven fire officers and two tenders from Probyn Street responded to the blaze around 5:45pm.
