Another house destroyed by fire |30 May 2020

A four-unit apartment block at Brilliant, Mahé was yesterday morning ravaged by a blaze, destroying the building which accommodated 3 families, comprising ten individuals.

The blaze is thought to have started in the ceiling of the two-storey building during the early hours of the morning, although it remains inconclusive what caused the fire thus far.

“Around 5.20am we received a call regarding a fire at a building in Brilliant and instantly we deployed three machines and a 10-strong crew. When we arrived, the top storey of the building was entirely in flames, and the roofing in the middle had started to collapse. We set to work immediately to stop the blaze and were able to control the fire after around 20 minutes, before completely putting it out after 1 hour,” information officer of the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency Jones Madeleine said.

The property, located on the main road, is a privately-owned building comprising apartments, two of which were accommodating two people each, the other two which housed six members of the same family, all of whom were able to make their way outside the building safely.

“When the fire started, the lady (from the family of six) had woken up and upon opening the door to her room smoke immediately started to fill the room. At this point, she removed her two children and woke up her parents and the other tenants and they were able to make their way outside safely. As you can see, the building is surrounded by burglar bars and if she had not awakened and discovered the fire on time, she could have found herself trapped in her room and the situation could have been fatal. Luckily she was able to wake up the others. The other tenants said as soon as they reached outside, they could not come back in to salvage anything as the building was quickly engulfed in flames,” Mr Madeleine said.

By yesterday afternoon, the building was still cordoned off and police presence was still clearly visible, a routine practice when investigations are still pending and it is concluded that the blaze was not a result of a criminal act, Mr Madeleine clarified.

Considering there were no air conditioning units on the top storey and the end of the building from which the blaze is thought to have started, investigations are still underway, although Mr Madeleine noted that such fires are usually caused by electrical issues in the ceiling itself, other electrical appliances within the home or in instances where building feature vents, fires can be occasioned by birds nesting inside vents.

The majority of the top storey of the building has been completely destroyed, except for one of the rooms and accompanying bathroom which Mr Madeleine described as “not too badly damaged”, from which some things were recovered.

The lower floor of the building, identified to be storage facilities, appears fairly unscathed from the outside, although it is possible that it too suffered some damage.

Although it still remains unclear whether the property was being rented out commercially, Mr Madeleine remarked the need to strictly enforce planning regulations and requirements, especially with regards to health and safety equipment. This particular incident could have been fatal, he said, if residents had not been alerted in time, on account of the burglar bars and only one main exit on the entire upper floor.

“From information received, it indicates that the fire started in the ceiling, probably on the right hand side of the building and this is a clue which could help us so we need to further the investigation so as to prove what happened. It should not have just one exit and we will take it up with the planning authority that such health and safety measures are enforced more strictly in future,” he added.

Currently, only commercial buildings are required to have health and safety equipment in place, and such buildings have to be inspected and approved by the authority prior to opening or operation. However, Mr Madeleine noted efforts to make fire safety equipment such as smoke detectors and fire extinguishers a requirement for private buildings as well, advising that home-owners install such equipment and take measures to prevent and protect themselves in the event of a fire, asserting that such equipment can make a difference and save lives.

The blaze is the third fire incident in apartments over the past few weeks.

Laura Pillay