Bahamas: Fire breaks out in Victoria Court, spreads across Downtown Nassau

A major fire erupted the Victoria Court structure in Downtown Nassau, On Thursday. The fire started at around 7 pm and quickly burst into a wide billowing flame, engulfing multiple buildings along Bay Street and destroying at least a dozen apartment-style homes.

Several buildings have been burnt on East Bay Street and Elizabeth Avenue and residents of nearby Victoria Court evacuated as the blaze caught their building. In the panic of the blaze, the netizens across the area were seen moving out from their residences to escape. As per the reports, the fire burnt from the roof of the building down, on Elizabeth Avenue and north onto another building which led to Bay Street, which appear to look like the old Stop-N-Shop building. 

Firefighters battled to contain blaze 

Upon the incident, the firefighters immediately reached the incident and made several efforts with a vision to extinguish the fire. The firefights battled to contain the blaze well beyond midnight, aimed at ensuring the safety and security of all the residents. 

The Communications Officer from the Officer of the Prime Minister, Latrae Rahming also shed light on the fire and described the response as a multi-agency effort. He also mentioned about the temporarily closure of the airport in order to assist with efforts of firefighters to combat a major fire in the Bay Street area, which has destroyed a complete structure. 

The Prime Minister, along with the Minister of Social Security and Works has also briefed the situation and has authorized the full deployment of resources in order to support the firefighting efforts. 

How the fire broke out?

The main reason about how the fire started is still unknown and the reports of injuries during the blaze is also not known at this time. However, the authorities have ensured to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. The authorities have urged the citizens to follow proactive measures, ensuring their safety and security. 

Netizens expressed concern and questioned authorities regarding the real reason of fire 

The netizens expressed their concern and urged the authorities about the real reason behind the happening of fire. As an individual wrote, “Wow why are these fires happening, you need to take strict action against all this.” Another individual said, “Why is all this happening, in this year, Freeport, Abaco burning, Andros burning, Nassau burning. All over & please pay attention to who occupy the Downtown area, When I Say allegedly. THE BAHAMAS IS NOT FOR BAHAMIANS.”