Elderly woman killed in fire in downtown Kingston

An elderly woman died on Thursday morning in a fire which damaged a building on Pechon Street in downtown Kingston.
    
She has been identified as 82-year-old Elfreda Brown.
   
Ms Brown's daughter said her mother had Alzheimer's disease.
    
The fire left several persons homeless and the operator of Ferguson Woodworks on Pechon Street counting his losses.
   
The fire started about 11:00 a.m. in the furniture shop on the ground floor.
    
It is not clear what caused the blaze, which spread to other sections of the building.
    
In the meantime, residents are upset because they say the elderly woman's life could have been saved, if the police had not prevented them from going inside the building.

However, Deputy Superintendent Alfred McDonald, Operational Officer of the Kingston Western Police, explained that the area has been one of concern for the police because several illegal weapons have been discovered in different operations conducted on the property.

"So when we came on the scene, it was a priority to ensure that we established a cordon in the hot zone where the fire personnel could work; established a cordon in the warm zone where the police personnel would operate; and then the cold zone where we'd ask (concerned residents) to stay back," he outlined. 

Meanwhile, the Jamaica Fire Brigade has said its team was hampered by a non-functioning fire hydrant.
   
Patrick Gooden, Senior Deputy Superintendent for the Kingston and St. Andrew Fire Brigade, said four units responded to the blaze.
   
He refuted claims by residents that some units did not have water, explaining that after pumping for a period of time, a tank will become exhausted.

For this reason, he said, there are fire hydrants, which are meant to provide a continuous supply of water in the case of a fire.
   
But he said due to malfunctions, the hydrants in close proximatey to the fire on Pechon Street were unable to serve their purpose.

He said the hydrants will be repaired in the next financial year.
   
A team from the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation, led by Mayor Delroy Williams toured the area.
  
Mr. Williams told RJR News that the corporation is carrying out an assessment to assist the fire victims.