Photos & Videos: 2011 Riddell’s Bay Fire
[Updated] Multiple Bermuda Fire Service vehicles responded to a brush fire at the Riddell’s Bay Golf & Country Club tonight [Mar. 8].
Bystanders — some snapping pictures on their mobile phones – looked on as a wall of fire consumed scrub on the golf course, with flames leaping more than 20 feet in the air and thick clouds of smoke billowing over Warwick.
Fire fighters were able to control the brush fire before it could threaten any homes or other structures adjoining Bermuda’s oldest golf course, which opened in 1922. Fire fighters doused the fire with hoses coming from multiple angles, at times causing massive plumes of smoke.
It appeared that no one was injured, and the cause of the fire is unknown at this time. We will update with official information as able.
Update March 9: The Bermuda Fire Service said that it took firefighters approximately 5 hours and over 3,000 gallons of water to extinguish the brush fire. Officials said the cause of fire is unknown, but is not believed to be suspicious in nature. They received the 911 call at 7:52pm, and the Fire Service responded with 6 fire appliances, 2 support vehicles and 20 personnel as it was reported as an extremely large area of brush on fire.
A Fire Service spokesperson said, “First responding vehicle arrived on scene just past 8pm to find an area approximately 150’ x 200’ of horticulture waste fully engulfed in flames. Due to the size of the pile and the fact that the fire was deep seated, it took firefighters approximately 5 hours and over 3,000 gallons of water to extinguish the blaze. At the moment the cause of the fire is unknown but is not believed to be suspicious in nature.”
Update #2: This morning the pile is still pouring smoke, the photos below were taken at approximately 9am. You can view a full slideshow of the area this morning here.
Update #3: A Police spokesman said, “Around 7:55pm on Tuesday, Police responded to a report of a fire in the Riddell’s Bay Road, Warwick area. The Bermuda Fire & Rescue Service also attended the scene and eventually extinguished the brush fire. Police officers assisted with crowd control as several members of the public were at the location observing the incident. There was no damage to surrounding property and no reported injuries. At this time the cause of the fire is unknown.”
Update #4: As of 6am, Thursday, March 10 – the pile was still pouring smoke, however a lot less then yesterday
Click to enlarge images:
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Category: Accidents/Fires, All, News, Photos, Videos
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Articles that link to this one:
- Video: Riddell’s Bay Blaze Briefly Flares Up : Bernews.com | November 19, 2011
- Slideshow: Riddell’s Bay Post-Fire Smoke : Bernews.com | November 19, 2011
- Video: Fire At Riddell’s Bay Golf Club : Bernews.com | November 19, 2011
- Looking Back On 2011: The Year In Photos | Bernews.com | December 28, 2013
As I watched all the emergency vehicles head West I knew it couldn’t be good. Thank God they managed to contain it and I hope no one was harmed. Well done firefighters!!!!!!
Not so thankful
While I am thankful that no one appears to be injured, I am not pleased with the idiot who had the bright idea to put a match to a huge pile of debris in the Riddell’s Bay quarry so that the residents of Riddell’s Bay and half of Warwick get to suck in dense smoke for the rest of the night. I also would like to meet this rocket scientist so I can send him a bill to clean my water tanks now that the rain is running all the soot down my drains.
I guess thats the price of living on ‘prime’ real estate around a Golf Club
surprise surprise, always a whiner out there. maybe get ur garden gear out and sweep it up this evening
Congrats to the BFS! I’m glad everyone is say. Here I am being woken up at 4:15am with the smell of smoke in the air. There’s just no wind out there and all you can smell is garden fire. This explains it! Thanks Bernews team.
Sorry,IMO controlled burning, as in a pile of horticulural waste, & a brush fire are two different things. Was this fire in wild bush land? Apparently not. Did it create alot of smoke? Sure did. I’ll bet it created a monstrous amount of smoke when the BFS started to put water on it.
As long as it was safe it should have been left to burn. If the tree cuttings had been left to dry sufficiently, at least a few months, & if the pile was piled up in a dense manner, the bulk of the fire would have burned hot & cleanly. It would have been relatively smokeless & burned in a short period of time.
The mistake the match holder made was lighting the pile at night. He scared the you know what out of people for miles around. Much better to have burned it by day, no wind, with fewer people home to worry about ‘whats that?’. Burn hot, clean & fast.
The smell of branches burning is not a bad thing. Has nobody ever been camping? Time to get out the smores.
Always proud of my Fire Service Team!! I also saw them rushing to the scene last night, knew it had to be something pretty major. Great job guys/gals!