BUILDING A GREAT CITY

 1948 Fire

“A Catastrophe that has been termed “the greatest calamity to be fall a Colony of its size and resources in so short a space of time” struck St. Lucia on the night of the 19-20th June, 1948: four-fifths of the capital was completely destroyed by fire. About 8 p.m. on Saturday, the 19th June, the alarm of a fire which had started in a tailor’s shop m the north-easterly part of Castries was given. There was a strong breeze that night, fanning the flames in a south-easterly direction. This factor, coupled with others stated in the Report of the Commission of Enquiry Into the Causes and Circumstances of the Fire, resulted in the conflagration getting completely out of control. Had it not been for a fire fighting squad of the United States Air Force at Bean Field, Vieux Fort, the flames would probably have spread back from the western end of Brazil Street, and gutted what still remained of the town.

“All the commercial section of Castries was destroyed, and the following Government Buildings were lost: Administration, Customs, Treasury, Audit, Post Office, Executive Architect, Education, Printery, Supreme Court and Magistrate’s Court, Registry, Labour and Controller of Supplies. The Castries Town Board offices were gutted, so were the Carnegie Library with its excellent reference section; Barclays Bank (D. C. & 0.); Cable & Wireless (West Indies) Ltd; and the Voice Publishing Co. All stores and their contents, apart from a few small shops on the outskirts of the town were destroyed: commercial life was practically reduced to a standstill for a week. The value of property destroyed amounted to over nine million dollars. Irreparable damage was done to files, records and archives, to those of Government as well as to those of firms and individuals. Amongst the latter, Mr. Tom Ferguson lost an important collection of historic documents.

‘Providentially, the electric power station and telephone exchanges escaped damage, as also did the buildings of the Police, Agricultural, Public Works and Medical Departments. St. Joseph’s Convent, St. Mary’s College, the Presbytery and the Church of the Immaculate Conception, all in the path of the fire, were saved thanks to strenuous efforts. Very happily, no large school buildings were destroyed. Although the Post Office was destroyed, all letters and stamps and much material were saved.

“There was no loss of life in the fire, but 809 famines, comprising a total of 2,293 persons, were rendered homeless. That obviously meant a considerable problem for all concerned. In gratitude it must be said that the neighbouring Islands immediately responded to the call for aid that was at once flashed to the outside world. Red Cross and Police detachments from Trinidad, Grenada and St. Vincent were soon on the scene of the disaster. H.M.S. Sparrow also promptly arrived. Thanks to the help received from outside, widespread looting was checked and security measures were put into effects Incidentally, much as the morale of the victims of the fire has won praise, it cannot be denied that the attitude of the crowd at the time of the catastrophe was far from edifying.

“The day after the fire, Government took measures for the relief of distress. Emergency relief committees were set up to deal with the distribution of food, clothing, household effects and comforts.