One of San Pedro Town’s popular tourist destinations, Ramon’s Village Resort, was partially destroyed by a huge fire which started about 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 27. Even today, Thursday, the charred remnants of the burnt structure are still smoldering.

As a result of the fire, twenty-nine hotel room units on the south side of the property, the main building housing the administration offices, the restaurant, bar, gift shop, laundry room and storeroom of the resort were destroyed. Fortunately, no one was injured in the blaze.

Eimer Gomez, the operations manager of Ramon’s Village, said that Tuesday night, he was at the end of the company’s pier, walking towards the property, when he saw smoke and sparks coming from the property.

While going towards the resort, he called the front desk and asked the security officer of the establishment to check the area to see what was happening.

However, when he and the security guard got to the area, they saw that one of the hotel’s room units was burning, and flames were coming out of the roof, which was thatched. The fire quickly spread to other surrounding room units, and they became engulfed in flames.

Gomez said that they tried to battle the fire, but it quickly spread out of control to other buildings. He quickly called the police and the island’s local fire service, which went to the scene of the fire to try to quell the flames, and the fire was brought under control after about two hours.

The estimated loss to the owners of the company has not yet been established, but is said to be in the millions. Also, as a result of the fire, there was a town blackout, and low water pressure.

Eimer Gomez told Amandala that the utility companies are cooperating. The phones have now been reactivated, water flow is being worked on, and electrical power is expected to be restored by Friday. Also, by Friday, the resort will be resuming operations. Gomez said that although the loss to the company was extensive, forty-five hotel rooms remained intact after the fire, and the boats for the dive tours, as well as the dive tours themselves, are one hundred percent operational.

Gomez said that this is the first time that such destruction has befallen the establishment, and he has been working with the company for over 20 years.

He thanks the people who came out to help, San Pedro’s local fire service and police, the banks which are offering assistance to the resort’s employees, and the utility companies which are cooperating in trying to restore service to them.

The San Pedro Fire Service told Amandala that their response to the fire was throttled by major hindrances, which included the cutting of the power supply. Because of lack of electrical power, the water pressure from the water hydrants needed by the fire trucks was very low, making it necessary for the firefighters to relocate and redeploy, losing precious time in the process.

As a result, sea water was used to try to put out the huge fire.

On top of these challenges, there was a major road construction being carried out in the area of Ramon’s Village, causing an obstruction, and the trucks could not access the area. Longer water hoses became necessary, which were obtained, to cover the distance.

Fire officials said that about 8:20 Tuesday evening, two persons in a golf cart came and reported that a fire was engulfing Ramon’s Village. The official said that despite the difficulties, they were able to bring the fire under control within two and a half hours, and completely put out the fire in eight hours.

Some portions of the destroyed section of the resort are still smoking, they said, but it poses no threat, and will burn out eventually. The official said that he was proud of the firemen’s heroic performance under the circumstances. He said that some of them have not yet slept, and are now cleaning hoses, and putting things back in order.

The Fire Department has begun their investigations into the cause of the fire, but so far, they are unable to say what caused the conflagration.

The San Pedro police told Amandala that their investigation revealed that the fire was seen coming from an area between rooms 14 and 15, before spreading to the other hotel rooms.

The hotel, which was valued at $8 million and is owned by Richard Hedricks of the United States, is insured by an American insurance company – the name of which has not yet been ascertained.

The total cost of the damages to the resort is not yet known. The hotel rooms, which had thatched roofs, were constructed of hardboard and palmetto palms, and the insides were cased with sheetrock.