Spaghetti Junction Restaurant devoured by the flames,

nearby vessels catching fire [photo Marc Downing]

Fire destroys several Wickhams Cay Businesses, Restaurant, Vessels 

On a quiet Saturday morning Road Town residents and those who were transiting through the town converged on Wickhams Cay I to see first hand a huge fire and endless clouds of black smoke destroy a popular hangout and its adjoining restaurant.  As the fire got bigger and the clouds engulfed the whole area more people gathered.

Spaghetti Junction Restaurant and popular Disco the Bat Cave, Wheatley Consulting, BF Real Estate and Property Management, Acute Construction and a small dock laundry of BVI Yacht Charters were completely destroyed. A catamaran and two other small boats were also destroyed. Two boats were also damaged. Apparently there were no casualties.

Reportedly, many boats in the area including a 21ft contender namely ‘Sunset’, a 25ft power boat namely ‘Queen Ann’, a 27ft power boat namely ‘Spice Up’ a Catamaran sail boat namely 'Kit Kat', a 35ft vessel namely ‘Aqua Venture’, a 17ft Boston Whaler, namely 'Sea Quest' and another fiberglass dinghy were in flames. 

The value of the boats or damage to the property has not yet been ascertained, however, all the boats with the exception of ‘Aqua Venture’, which sustained fire damage to its right side, were completely destroyed. 

Chief Fire Officer Mr. Leando Stoutt told the press that the British Virgin Islands Fire and Rescue Service Department received a report at 7:23am that there was a fire at Spaghetti Junction. The department then sent one fire engine with four officers in attendance. With one charge hose reel jet two officers went into the burning building but had to withdraw because of the intensity of the heat. Shortly after the hose reel was put into action to attack the fire. Instead of being offensive the fire officers were forced to go into a defensive mode and fought the fire from afar.

The attending officer sent a message back to the headquarters requesting that pump number two be sent to the site. The second pump arrived at 7:46am, but by that time about half of the building was devoured by flames. Minutes later the second pump which was utilizing sea water developed a mechanical malfunction, and the fire gained strength and intensity an explosion took place blowing objects in all directions a nearby Catamaran (vessel) caught fire. And it was decided to remove the nearby vessels. The officers removed three vessels, two yachts and one power boat. By then the intensity of the heat had forced fire personnel to retreat and some officers to splash in the water to keep cool.

 The second pump was pulled out from its position and the first pump was setup in the same position as the second pump was, but malfunctioned and was unable to take water from the sea. At 8:07am a further assistant message was sent to the fire control to dispatch pump three, this pump was also setup and for the third time they experienced technical difficulties. It was then discovered that the nearby fire hydrant had no water pressure and a request was sent to Fire Control to have the Water and Sewerage Department increase the water pressure. After this was done a message was sent to Fire Control for the East End Long Look Fire Engine, and the Civil Aviation (Beef Island Airport) crash tender. During that time officers experienced fatigue from the heat and smoke inhalation 

At 8:29am the fourth pump arrived and at 8:45am the Civil Aviation Crash Tender arrived and both pumps were put into operation minutes later and the fire was contained. But  it was not until 5:27pm that the incident was closed.

Of the 26 fire officers who were in attendance; four officers were hospitalized suffering from heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, and a further eight officers were attended to on the scene for heat fatigue.

A press release from the Commissioner of Police Mr. Barry Webb explained that the primary function of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force at the scene of the fire was to secure the scene to minimize the risk of injury and death.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Barry W. Webb directed the Marine Unit to assist in securing the boats and placing buoys to alert shipping.  Mr. Webb attended the scene at 8.30 a.m. together with other Senior Officers.  Upon receipt of information that there were two 3000-gallon fuel containers under the premises, Mr. Webb introduced a cordon at 200-metres; had these fuel tanks exploded, the impact and debris would have spread to the surrounding area and persons within 100 meters would have been at a life-threatening risk.

The Commissioner of Police stated that based on the information that was received, that the media would not have been privy to, a judgment call had to be made to secure lives.  He further expressed his disappointment with the reluctance of the withdrawal of the 200 meters with certain media houses and clarified that the primary function of the police is to secure the scene to minimize risk of injury or death.  Once security assessment had been completed and following negotiations with the Chief Fire Officer, owners of the respective businesses and members of the media were allowed to visit the scene under supervision of the Police.

Mr. Webb stated that he recognizes and respects the need for the media to disseminate information but cannot and will not allow persons to place themselves and others in danger.  The primary function of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force at the scene of a fire is to introduce a cordon to reduce risk of injuries and to support the Fire Service in tackling the blaze.  Individual members of the media cannot place themselves in danger and ignore the police cordon introduced.