A once-towering pillar of the rich history of St Ann went up in smoke and is now reduced to a structural husk, as the Brown’s Town Courthouse was gutted by a devastating fire on Sunday (February 13).

The Jamaica Fire Brigade, speaking with Our Today on Monday, said its members were alerted to a blaze around 7:59 pm. 

According to the representative, three units were dispatched to tackle the inferno, with 35 firefighting personnel on the scene. While an investigation into the structural fire has officially commenced, the Jamaica Fire Brigade said there were no reports of deaths or injuries.

The fire was brought under control around 10:00 pm, Our Today was informed.

Update: Fire has engulfed the Brown’s Town Courthouse in St. Ann.

Emergency services are still on location. pic.twitter.com/eRZL35yaHV

— Jamaica Constabulary Force (@JamaicaConstab) February 14, 2022

A SAD MOMENT

Mayor of St Ann’s Bay, Councillor Sydney Stewart, lamented the historical legacy of the Brown’s Town courthouse, which has been in continual use since 1860. 

Stewart, who was contacted right after the fire reportedly began spreading, said the recently renovated building could have been better protected if nearby fire hydrants were in working order. 

“I received a call last night some time after 8:00 pm and then I immediately made contact and [was informed about] what was happening. The fire engulfed the building entirely,” Stewart told Our Today in an interview on Monday morning.

“I saw firemen at work and, in my view, they had done a good job but [while] they were able to extinguish the fire on the ground floor. They left to refill and [afterwards] the fire again emerged and took over the upper floors,” the Bamboo Division councillor added.

Still giving praise to the efforts of the multi-team and civilian response, Stewart, who was leaving the St Ann Municipal Corporation for Brown’s Town to get a fulsome overview of the blaze, contended that perhaps the town was not prepared to rescue the iconic building. 

“I would want to give the firemen credit from what I saw but I was told there were some problems with the fire hydrants that are located in Brown’s Town. So that prevented them from getting their [water] refill to go back to the location as quickly as possible,” the mayor explained.

“The [responding firefighters] were assisted with other units from Ocho Rios, St Ann’s Bay and I understand Noranda [Bauxite]. What I can say to Jamaica and the world, it was a sad moment for St Ann,” he indicated further.

Calling the courthouse an “immaculate building atop the hill”, the mayor was unsure how soon renovation or reconstruction works would commence, as millions of tax dollars were previously spent to rehabilitate the building—an outstation of the St Ann judicial system.

“The building is well over 100 years old and it was recently refurbished by the Government so it has historical aspects to it and it’s a feature that we [wanted] to preserve,” said Stewart.

In the meantime, Mayor Stewart told Our Today that he was en route to Brown’s Town to get further information, at which time, “I’d be able to speak more definitively on what takes place”.