Fire destroys bus fleet in Lower Estate

A fire in the wee hours of Tuesday morning in Lower Estate swept across a lot filled with safari buses as firefighters stymied by a paved-over hydrant waited for a water truck to arrive, according to witnesses.

The blaze — which reduced 18 vehicles to charred metal and ash — broke out at around 3 a.m. and spread quickly from the back of the lot, said Michael Herbert and Byron Parsons, who own the school-transport provider MBH Services.

No injuries or deaths were reported, but police said 14 safari buses, two coaster buses, one small van and an excavator were destroyed.

Around midday Tuesday, the two co-owners — who said they were not at the site when the blaze started — sat on a picnic table in the shade near their offices and surveyed the ruins of their livelihood. Buses sat gutted by fire beneath frayed power lines burst from heat, ruined upholstery on the ground around them.

As Mr. Herbert walked and checked the damage while talking on the phone, some of the vehicles still hissed thin lines of smoke.

Only two buses from the fleet were salvaged, Mr. Herbert said.

Both Mr. Herbert and Mr. Parsons bemoaned what they described as a delayed response, claiming that firefighters who arrived on the scene had to wait for a private water truck to arrive.

“They stood there the way I’m standing now,” Mr. Parsons said. “We have to laugh to keep sane. It sounds funny or whatever, but that’s what happened.”

He and Mr. Herbert insisted that the damage would have been minimal had first responders been better equipped.

“We have a fire station, but we don’t have a fire truck,” Mr. Herbert said. “Does that make any sense?”

Response 

At the Road Town fire headquarters, Station Officer Joseph George told the Beacon that the Virgin Islands Fire and Rescue Service arrived three minutes after receiving a call about the fire at 3:15 a.m.

However, the nearest fire hydrant was inaccessible because it had been paved over by road resurfacing, and a water truck belonging to fire officer Shawn Rymer was called to the scene for additional support, he explained.

“Fire trucks do not carry enough water to solely combat a fire, and so must rely on hydrants,” Mr. George said.

All told, 16 firefighters worked to contain the blaze, remaining on the scene for just over two hours, according to the station officer.

The lot where the buses were parked is book-ended by two large apartment buildings in a residential neighbourhood, but Mr. George said neither building had to be evacuated.

Officers on the scene could not immediately determine the cause of the fire, but an investigation is under way, according to a Tuesday statement from the Police Information Office.

‘Something malicious’ 

Tourism and Culture Junior Minister Luce Hodge-Smith, who represents Road Town in the House of Assembly, suggested in a Tuesday interview with 284 Media that the fire was suspicious.

“The one main question is why: Why something like this happened,” Ms. Hodge-Smith said as she stood near the burned-out vehicles. “We don’t know the answers of course until the investigations are completed, but it’s obvious to the naked eye that it was something malicious. But I’ll stand corrected if that wasn’t the case.”

She added that the fire represented a major setback for the tourism industry given its impact on so many safari buses.

Police are asking anyone with information that could assist in their investigation to call 368-9339 or the anonymous Crime Stoppers hotline 800-8477 (TIPS).