Oxford Mall fire leaves vendors in a daze

Sharon Dunkley is among the vendors at Oxford Mall Arcade in downtown Kingston who have been dealt a terrible blow after fire razed a section of the market on Sunday night.

"I don't know how mi a guh find it fi start all over now because this is me only source of income," said the 57-year-old, who has run a haberdashery in the market for the past five years.

The fire destroyed more than a dozen stalls, along with agricultural produce and dry goods. Loss is estimated at $10 million. Several of the vendors told THE STAR that they were asleep inside the market when the fire started shortly after 11 p.m.

Dunkley, who lives just several minutes away on Oxford Street where the fire broke out, said that she was at home when she was told of the incident. The fire, she said, will pose great difficulty for her to provide for her grandchildren.

"Right now mi feel bad cause mi have mi grand pickney dem (six), mi last son, partner draw and rent fi consider. Mi come here yesterday and clean out the shop good because mi a stock out some goods. When mi a come this morning mi a seh to mi self 'how the place inna darkness so?', and a so dem tell mi wah gwan. Things did already difficult since COVID, so mi no know how mi a guh manage now," she said. Two other vendors, Dawn Wilks and Orville Lyons, said that the fire has come at an inconvenient time.

"Mi is a liquor man, and mi lose all a mi liquor and mi sound box... over $200,000 of liquor and tin products. All some electrical parts weh mi have in stock. How dis fi happen during COVID when people already nah mek no money?" the distraught-looking Lyons said.

Wilks, who runs a meat shop, echoed Lyon's sentiments but said that she was looking at the brighter side despite losing an estimated $500,000 in goods.

"I am giving thanks because I still have life. I don't know how to express how I feel at the moment because I know that with God, all things are possible; we can start all over again. I don't know how, but God knows," she said.

Valerie Dixon, senior deputy superintendent at the Jamaica Fire Brigade, said that two units from the York Park Fire Station, and another from the Rollington Town Fire Station were dispatched after it had received reports of the fire at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday.

"It took us approximately 33 minutes. We got the call at 11:40 and we were able to bring it under control and contain it from spreading any further approximately 12:15 (Monday morning). As it relates to motives? No, but we currently have a team of fire investigators there on location, but nothing has been listed in terms of cause of fire as yet," Dixon said.