While Fabian's wind and rain lashed the Island, homeowner Timothy Darrell could only watch helplessly as his Southampton home of more than 25 years burned down.

Mr. Darrell believes a candle used during Friday's blackout sparked the blaze which gutted his $900,000 Scenic Height's Pass home.

He told The Royal Gazette: "I had just left the entertainment room when my wife said she smelled smoke. She was in bed but fortunately she wasn't too sleepy."

The couple grabbed their children Natique, eight, Asante, five, and 18-month-old Akino and fled the burning building.

"I thank the Lord they are all right, I got out my tenants and everybody got to safety."

Neighbours called the fire brigade after the blaze was spotted at about 10.20 p.m. but Mr. Darrell said it was 45 minutes before they arrived from Port Royal as they battled through blocked roads.

"I was standing across the street watching it burn and feeling a lot of anxiety. If the response had been quicker we could have stopped it."

Fabian's winds fanned the flames said Mr. Darrell, 45, who is co-owner of the Jamaica Grill restaurant chain.

"The wind velocity accelerated the fire and it engulfed the building. Eventually the windows blew out.

"Everything was totally gutted."

His brand new moped which was parked in the entertainment room to avoid storm damage caught on fire and the gas tank exploded.

"It singed the window of my neighbour's house 20 feet away," said Mr. Darrell.

He said when the tender did arrive it ran out of water and had to tap into neighbour's supplies.

"They only sent a small truck."

Neighbours across the road said sparks were hitting their front door. Eleanor Stovell said hundreds of people gathered but there was little they could do.

She said: "We could not get near it, it was too dangerous to get too close, the heat was so intense. There was thick smoke and then we heard a massive explosion."

Important business files, martial arts trophies and irreplaceable family photos perished. "I lost photos of my mum who recently passed," said Mr. Darrell. "You can't replace them."

He said both his four bed-home and one of the adjoining apartments was destroyed while the lower apartment was undamaged but had to be abandoned.

Mr. Darrell thanked his neighbours for putting his family and tenants up for the night.

"People were beautiful, bringing water."