San Vicente y las Granadinas: incendio envolvió edificio gubernamental y destruyó documentos oficiales y registros financieros
Fire destroys government records in St Vincent
On Sunday evening, fire fighters in St Vincent battled a massive blaze in Kingstown, as fire engulfed the building that housed the Electoral Office and another that once housed the Social Welfare Department.
The flames also appeared to threaten the former National Commercial Bank Building that houses the Registry, the Ministerial Building and others.
The fire brigade turned out in the fire engine that, in the words of one local resident, “in all its years of service has never been able to put out a fire in Kingstown or anywhere else.”
The airport was closed and the airport fire engine was brought in; however, even that could not put out the fire, which eventually burnt itself out after destroying the buildings and the contents.
Police controlled the large crowd of onlookers who turned out to view the fire and subsequent total destruction of the buildings and contents.
It is believed but not confirmed that a significant number of government financial records and other government transactional documents were destroyed.
Local observers commented that, if so, the fire may have put paid to any forensic auditing for fraud that opposition leader Arnhim Eustace has promised voters.
