Leslie Land fire sparks call for owners to secure derelict properties

Citing the risk abandoned properties pose to surrounding homes, fire officials are pressing owners to act after a blaze that began in a derelict building spread rapidly on Tuesday night, damaging seven structures and a utility pole.

According to the Saint Lucia Fire Service, the fire originated in an abandoned building in Leslie Land, Castries, often occupied by squatters, before spreading into nearby properties. 

Three structures – two homes and one business – were destroyed, while four others sustained varying levels of damage. No loss of life was reported.

Officer in Charge of Fire Prevention and Safety, Owen Cazaubon, said early suppression efforts were hampered by low water pressure from the closest hydrant.

“The fire officers, in an attempt to refill their trucks, could not get sufficient pressure into the trucks so that they could suppress the fire. Therefore, they had to source water from another hydrant which was a distance away. And of course them having to leave the scene caused the fire to develop, and upon their return, the fire had spread to the adjacent buildings,” he explained.

Firefighters eventually contained and extinguished the blaze, preventing further destruction and saving four additional structures threatened by the flames.

While the exact cause remains under investigation, preliminary findings point to the abandoned building as the ignition point.

In the aftermath, the Fire Service is urging owners of abandoned or derelict properties in densely populated communities to take responsibility for securing them.

“It creates a hazard,” Cazaubon said. “As we saw, a fire started, it spread to neighbouring structures and we have persons’ homes being damaged. Right now, we have people homeless.”