No One Injured in Carolina Home Fire

The Estate Carolina home, above, was quickly engulfed in flames even though the concrete structure remained intact.

Flames engulfed the Coral Bay home of Brenda Dalmida and her family on Monday afternoon, February 21, around 4:15 p.m. sending plumes of smoke across the Carolina Valley and up to Bordeaux.

No one was injured in the blaze, but the concrete structure was basically gutted by the fire, according to V.I. Fire Department St. John Deputy Chief Winnifred Powell.

Both the Coral Bay and Cruz Bay Fire Stations responded to the fire, which drew a total of five trucks as well as St. John Rescue and V.I. Police Department officials and St. John EMTs.

Dry weather worried nearby neighbors about the possibility of the fire spreading in the Lower Carolina neighborhood. The structure, however, was concrete which contained the blaze within the home, Powell explained.

“It was a concrete house so the fire remained within the dwelling itself,” said Powell. “The house was more than 65 percent destroyed. Because of the concrete it is still a solid structure, but the contents of the home were all but destroyed.”

The cause of the fire was still being investigated as of press time and Powell declined to comment on when the Arson Prevention Unit would have results.

“The cause of the fire is under investigation as we speak,” the fire chief said last week. “Not sure how long it will take because it depends on how much work they have to do and what they have to clean out in order to determine what happened.”

With her home gutted by fire, Brenda Dalmida could use quite a few helping hands.

She especially needs help rebuilding her home, so anyone with time to help is encouraged to pitch in. Contact Alice Krall at Coral Bay Jewelers at 776-6167 or Alecia Wells for more information.

Donations to Dalmida can be made through the St. John Revolving Fund, with Dalmida’s name in the memo line. Stop by Connections and talk to Cid Hamling at 776-6922 for more information about how to donate.