By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, June 30, 2022 – After nearly half of her home was destroyed by fire Tuesday night one resident from Leeward Palms wants to remind homeowners that burglary is not the only thing they should remain vigilant about.

The  homeowner, who asked to remain anonymous wanted to share her story in the hopes it would help other residents to be prepared in the event of any emergency or danger.

She explained that on Tuesday night, she had retired for the evening and was in bed when her dog began barking suspiciously as if to alert her. Immediately she peered out of the windows of the home she shared with her son but in seeing nothing suspicious she got back into bed.

Unbeknownst to her, the eastern side of her house which she could not see from her window was ablaze at that very moment.

Further tragedy was prevented by a Good Samaritan who noticed the flames and rang her son who was at work at the West Bay Club at the time to inform him. Immediately he started home and called to alert his mother who grabbed the dog and got out of the burning building.

The Domestic Firefighters were called for assistance with the blaze but it was the Leeward Palms residents who saved the day. Armed only with regular low-pressure garden hoses the son and neighbors managed to put out the fire in the reported 45-minutes it took the fire crew to arrive on scene.

While no one was hurt, the family especially her son sustained significant losses and the resident, who is an employee with the TCI Government is warning other Turks and Caicos residents that a little vigilance can go a long way.

Fire emergency experts say you may have as little as two minutes to escape a blazing home. Caribbean people love to say ‘ you neva see smoke without fiyah’ but what if like you can’t see the smoke?

An easy way to get immediate alerts about any potential blaze is to install smoke detectors in your home. Portable smoke detectors that you can attach to the walls or just place on a shelf in each room retail for as low as $12 on Amazon.

Fire extinguishers are especially handy because water won’t put out every type of fire, trying to spray water on an oil fire will only make it worse as oil floats on water (which is how fires can last on the ocean). There are large and small ones available online for as low as $10 dollars.

Even more protection can come in the form of sprinklers, these do need expert installation and are good deal more pricey than a smoke detector but are a guaranteed defense for potential fires when no one is at home.

Another level of protection not necessary for fires but still important for anyone with an A/C unit is a carbon monoxide detector. Retailing for as low as $30 on Amazon these are especially important. Carbon monoxide does not have a scent or visible marker but can make you ill from small bouts of exposure  and can easily kill an adult while they are asleep.

Encourage your children not to leave curling irons or similar implements plugged in, pay attention to stoves microwaves, coffee pots, toasters, irons and ovens to make sure they are not touching flammable surfaces and are always unplugged when not in use.

Check your smoke alarm batteries regularly to make sure they still work and purchase home and contents insurance plans to protect your assets and ensure a smooth recovery. Contents insurance may also be a good idea as home insurance may only cover the building while everything that really matters is inside.

Keep your important documents together in one central location that you can grab quickly. Even better would be housing them in a fireproof safe so when the dust settles you can recover them and they will be good as new.

In the unfortunate case that there is a fire you can’t control or prevent, every family should have a fire emergency plan with escape routes. Practice your plan several times a year and make sure your children know it well.

Most importantly do not try to move anything out or save anything! Get your family and pets out immediately; lives are irreplaceable.

In this case, lives were spared and so were important documents; the home is also insured.  Now, with investigators having completed their assessment of the scene, the family awaits information on what triggered the fire and report to us that they are busy mopping up water, clearing debris and cleaning soot from walls and ceiling.