By BARBARA WALKIN

Senior Freeport News Reporter

barbara@nasguard.com

Quick thinking by a group of West End residents may have prevented a fire that engulfed two abandoned buildings in that quaint settlement on Sunday from spreading to a home occupied by two elderly persons.

Inspector Norman Bain, officer-in-charge at the Fire Emergency Unit in Freeport, said his fire-fighting team received a call shortly before 7 pm reporting a fire at two vacant buildings located on Queens Highway, West End, next to the Save More Store.

"When we arrived we found two single storey abandoned buildings engulfed in flames," said the fire chief.

Adjacent to the burning structures was an occupied home and a business place that were in danger of being caught up in the blaze if it was not immediately contained, Mr Bain said.

He added that his team quickly joined a group of firefighters already on the scene from the Eight Mile Rock Fire Emergency Branch. Fortunately, they were able to contain and put out the flames before any major damage was done to the occupied house and the business place. According to witnesses the house was occupied by two elderly persons, one blind, the other crippled.

Residents from the community reportedly moved quickly to remove the two from the home, before they suffered smoke inhalation. The neighbours were further credited for their quick thinking, when they formed a human chain leading from the sea, filling buckets with salt water and dousing the fire.

Inspector Bain said officers were unable to gather any pertinent information at the scene as to who owned the two burnt structures; however, efforts are being made to identify the owners.

"The men worked feverishly to save the nearby house," said the fire chief, who added that only minor water and smoke damages were sustained.

Both of the unoccupied buildings were destroyed by the fire, and efforts are being made to have them pushed down, Inspector Bain said

Investigations are continuing into what caused the fire.

CAPTION: ON THE SCENE — Firefighters on the scene fought feverishly to save the nearby home and business place, before they could be destroyed by the early evening fire in West End. Two single storey abandoned buildings were destroyed by the fire.