Bush fire gives Norbrook residents a scare
Bush fire gives Norbrook residents a scare
06 March 2009
published by www.jamaicaobserver.com
Jamaica — Firefighters were last night struggling to contain a raging bush fire which broke out in the hills of Norbrook Heights and threatened several upscale homes.
The angry flames, stoked by gusty winds and dry conditions, spread at a frenetic pace leaving firefighters rushing to various sections of the hills in an effort to contain the inferno.
The fire came agonisingly close to the two-storey house owned by Stanley and Carol Gordon at 61 Sunset Boulevard.
The flames swept through the dry shrubbery on the hillside near the house and threatened to engulf the residence, but firefighters valiantly fought back the flames with fire hoses and sticks.
“We got calls from our relatives and friends on the other side of the hill that the fire had broken out and was burning down another side of the hill. By the time we know, the fire spread around here,” Carol Gordon said as firemen soaked her shingle roof and wet the area surrounding her house to temporarily quench the crackling flames.
But the Gordons were not the only ones whose house was threatened by the fire. At least three other houses in the same neighbourhood were affected.
One resident said a blast of sparks nearly caused his house to become engulfed in flames and was grateful for the efforts of the firemen.
“We were watching the fire when a big gust of wind just lift up a ball of flames and dash it right inside the house,” said the resident. “It was a powerful gust and if it were not for the quick action of the firemen, the house would be burnt to the ground.”
But while the firefighters had brought the flames at Sunset Boulevard under control, another section of the hill close by caught fire and lit up the sky, forcing the firemen to reel in their hoses and rush to that area.
“We are trying to get more trucks as this fire is behaving rougish,” one firefighter said as he jumped on a truck that sped off in the direction of the new outbreak.
As the firemen worked feverishly to contain the bush blaze, several residents of Norbrook Circle stood in a huddle and looked on nervously.
