By BARBARA WALKIN

FN Night Editor

barbara@nasguard.com

Four families in a closely knit Haitian neighbourhood in Lewis Yard are, today, trying to put pieces of their lives back together following a blaze early Thursday morning that left them with only the clothes on their backs.

Four of some 20-plus wooden structures built closely, two left only charred remains and two others were barely standing, when The Freeport News team arrived on the scene around 12:40 a.m.

One RBPF Fire Emergency fire apparatus was on the scene with a team of firefighters, who were assisted by a team from BORCO and the Freeport Container Port working as a unit to contain the fire that was just across the fence from the BORCO plant.

Reportedly employees from BORCO flattened the north fence for access to assist with extinguishing the fire before it could reach the oil refining facility.

Residents of the area were milling about watching in awe as bit, by bit two homes collapsed under the rage of the fire, while firefighters worked to stop the blaze from completely destroying two others.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Floyd Bastian, officer in charge of the fire brigade was heard over the din of the crackling fire shouting instructions to the men, "soak this house ... come this way, we have to contain this fire."

Bastian was mindful that the wind was blowing in a northern direction, toward the BORCO plant and sparks were flying.

"I knew we had to stop the spread of this blaze at all cost," he said after the blaze was totally extinguished, sometime around 2:00 a.m.

Bastian noted that when they arrived one of the structures was already destroyed by fire, so his team moved in quickly to contain the blaze. "We also had to ensure that there were no people trapped in any of the homes."

Officers questioned a number of onlookers gathered and were told that the homes were all cleared.

Speaking with one young man, the news team learned that he together with a friend had to rescue an elderly blind man from one of the homes that was partially destroyed.

"I had to break a window to get into the house and get him out," the young man recalled. "He fought with me because he didn't know what was going on, he probably thought someone was trying to rob him. So I forcefully had to take him out of the house."

The young man said he later learned from neighbours that the man was blind.

"I am so happy I moved when I did or he may have died in that house."

The young man said that he was at a local establishment when he heard of the fire and immediately called the police.

Another bystander said, "one of the children came running in my door and said the house over there on fire. I ran to the door and saw the blaze." She too noted that she called for police assistance.

The intensity of the blaze resulted in electrical wires burning and a team from the Grand Bahama Power Company had to be called in to shut off the power in the area.

According to police 13 persons were left homeless as a result of the early morning fire.

Later in the afternoon the news team returned to the scene and persons could be seen surveying the debris for signs of any personal documents that were untouched by the fire.

"Well everything gone," said an elderly gentleman, "but thank God for life."

Investigators at the Police Fire Department are continuing their investigations to determine the cause of the Lewis Yard blaze that left damages in the amount of $60,000 in total.