Fire breaks out near Mid Ocean Club causing outages
Several trees and bushes were engulfed in a fire that broke out near the Mid Ocean Club this morning.
The incident resulted in damage to power and communication lines, a road closure and nearby houses taking on smoke.
A manager from the St George’s club said that the fire, believed to have been caused by an electrical issue, started at about 9.30am and did not result in any injuries.
Carlos Frias, the members, guests and service manager at the golf club, told The Royal Gazette that the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service was called and attended along with ambulance crews and electrical and telecommunications companies.
Videos of the incident — circulated on social media — showed trees and bushes alight.
Mr Frias said: “Everyone is OK. A bunch of bushes and trees were damaged.
“It was not on our property, it was at the entrance to the club, the road is called Mid Ocean Club First Drive.
“There are two roads, the road to the right is private and the road to the left is public and the fire was on the public side. We think it was an electrical issue but we are not sure.
“The fire jumped because there was wind and there is a house that just had some smoke damage. It went out of hand and there was a lot of smoke.
“The fire service came with about four trucks and there was an ambulance but no one was hurt.”
He added that some nearby residences lost power and internet services, while the club’s phone lines had also been impacted by the incident.
Mr Frias said that while the fire was out, the BFRS truck remained on site at about 3pm to make sure that the area was safe.
He added that the road was closed for about four hours but one side had since reopened.
Mr Frias said that the club was able to assist the fire service allowing firefighters access to its water tank once the truck supply had dried up.
“We have the staff quarters about 20 feet away, they could use the tank so that helped.”
BFRS and the Bermuda Police Service have been contacted for information.
The Royal Gazette has also contacted Belco, Digicel and One Communications.
