Four females and one young boy, ranging from age three to 21, narrowly escaped a fire in a Pembroke apartment, yesterday morning.

Babysitter Jahnika Thompson, 21, awoke to find the fire burning in a closet and managed to get the four younger girls out of harm's way and call the Fire service.

Three fire trucks arrived at the Parsons Road apartment block in Pembroke at 8.45 a.m. to find smoke billowing from the upper apartment's windows. The fire was extinguished by 9.15 a.m. and investigators were looking for what caused the fire yesterday afternoon.

Damage was estimated at $50,000.

Miss Thompson said she had gotten out of bed to use the bathroom when she smelled smoke.

A check of the kitchen found nothing but when she went into a front bedroom she saw smoke coming from the closet.

Miss Thompson said: “I opened the closet thinking that it was probably a small fire that I could deal with but the room filled up with smoke. I ran and grabbed the others and we all ran outside.”

The apartment's tenants, Andre and Debra Smith, were at work when they heard about the fire.

Mr. Smith, an employee of Mayne's Furniture, told The Royal Gazette, “I am happy that everyone got out safely. I had just finished that room, it was just completely renovated - all new furniture and it's all gone.”

Mr. Smith said his personal property was not insured, but the structure was. He asked: “What are we going to do? I don't have anywhere else to go.”

Mrs. Smith rushed home from work at Grotto Bay Hotel as soon as she heard about the blaze.

She said: “I couldn't believe it. We are very lucky and nothing else matters as long as the children are safe.”

The younger children were taken to a relative's house while the fire was being bought under control. A fire crew remained on the scene to remove the smoke with large window fans while Fire Investigation Officers examined the fire's remains.

Yesterday afternoon Bermuda Fire Service Divisional Officer Melvin Outerbridge said: “The damage has been estimated at around $50,000. The ceilings are down and the walls will have to be re-plastered.”

The family had to split up last night with Mr. Smith's two daughters Jenae, three, and Andrea, 15, who had lived with him in the apartment, going to live with their mothers.

Mr. Smith's two relatives, Miss Thompson and Teresa Carmichael, 18, had gone to stay with other family members.

Mr. Smith and his wife Debra have gone to emergency housing where they were told that they could not be helped. As of presstime, Mr. Smith had still not found accomodation and said he will probably end up with friends.