14-y-o girl killed, brother critical after house fire in Spanish Town

Tragedy struck the community of St John’s Garden in Spanish Town, St Catherine on Wednesday afternoon when a 14-year-old girl perished in a devastating house fire that also left her elder brother critically injured.

She has been identified as Gabriella Wright.

According to the Jamaica Fire Brigade, the blaze destroyed the family’s five-bedroom dwelling, leaving the structure gutted.

Divisional Commander for St Catherine, Superintendent Dennis Lyons, said firefighters received the distress call at approximately 4:40 p.m. and responded promptly to the scene.

However, on arrival, the house was already engulfed in flames.

“When the first unit arrived on the scene, a five-bedroom dwelling house was engulfed in fire. Investigations at the time revealed that one person was already injured and transported to hospital,” Lyons explained.

The injured individual, identified as the teen’s elder brother, reportedly sustained burns to about 80 percent of his body and remains hospitalised in serious condition.

Firefighters battled the blaze before conducting cooling-down operations, during which the charred remains of the 14-year-old girl were discovered in a rear bedroom.

The cause of the fire remains unknown, and investigators are continuing their probe into the incident.

The tragic event has left the St John’s Garden community in shock as residents grapple with the loss of a young life and the critical condition of her sibling.

- Ruddy Mathison

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