Fire Destroys Two-Storey Commercial Building on Wehner Road, Antigua

A massive fire destroyed a hardware store and restaurant in Antigua, forcing residents to flee and prompting a full investigation into the cause.

17th of May 2026

Antigua and Barbuda: A fire destroyed a two-storey commercial building on Wehner Road in Antigua on Wednesday, May 13, forcing a full investigation into the cause.

According to police reports, the incident took place on Wednesday, at a two-storey commercial building on Wehner Road in Antigua, shortly after an island-wide power outage earlier in the same day.

Reportedly, the residents of the Wehner Road in Antigua heard some popping sounds before noticing a smoke which was coming from a nearby generator following which the residents raised an alarm and started vacating their premises.

The fire ignited quickly in the two-storey building where the generator was present at the ground level which housed a Vince's Hardware Store and a restaurant but at the time of the fire there were no people as they were all believed to be upstairs.

However, despite being on the upper part of the building multiple individuals were trapped inside the floor as thick smoke filled the structure. Following which the people somehow managed to escape the building while two occupants were forced to make a desperate dash and jump from a second-story window.

Other occupants also managed to grab their essential documents just before the property was engulfed by the fire.

The people then immediately contacted the fire officials who arrived at 5 : 00 p.m., and on arrival they attempted to control the situation but the extreme heat triggered several explosions inside the building, including a massive gas-related blast.

The situation was getting worse due to the limited water supplies which was caused by earlier power outages affecting nearby fire hydrants, forcing crews to make repeated trips to alternative water sources.

The building and its contents were lost completely with the fire crews remaining on-site past 11:00 p.m. managing hot spots.

Since then the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire have been launched by the fire officers as they are actively trying to figure out the cause of the fire.