The official in charge of investigating the December fire at Wharfside Village still doesn't have the definitive answer to what caused the blaze, but he says upgrading the shopping center's alarm system could prevent possible future problems.
Fire marshal Glen Francis said he's still awaiting the results of forensic tests that were sent off-island for analysis, but both he and a private investigator believe the Dec. 28 fire was caused by a faulty electric fan. And, in theory at least, it could happen again.
Although Wharfside is not a high-hazard structure by V.I. Fire Services standards, Francis said, some areas within it contain potential fire hazards — compressed air tanks in a dive shop, propane tanks, grease and liquor stocks in restaurants. "The freon in the cold storage system helped escalate the fire" in December, he said. "The floors were wood, which is highly combustible."
The fire destroyed the second-floor office of Pusser's Restaurant and caused heavy smoke and water damage to the Pusser's Company Store and a common hallway used to access the restrooms and a loft. Two people who had been living in the loft escaped through a window. Two and a half months later, vestiges of the blaze — windows and doorways etched by smoke — are still visible to passers-by.
It was the second major fire at the Cruz Bay beachfront shopping complex, which opened in the late 1980s. In the first, in July 1992, flames and smoke destroyed part of the Wendy's fast food restaurant that was located there. It never reopened.
The Virgin Islands adopted a beefed-up Uniform Building Code in 1995, in the aftermath of Hurricane Marilyn. Under the code, Francis said, any business that sustains damage to more than 50 percent of its structure as a result of fire is required to install hard-wired alarm systems backed up by smoke detectors. He noted that while the code doesn't apply to buildings constructed before 1995, such precautions can be adopted voluntarily.
Places of business in which highly flammable materials are present "need to consider the automatic alarm system," Francis said. "They should have one that's monitored on a 24-hour basis and monitored by a fire alarm company." Even better, he said, would be "to have a sprinkler system in there."
Wharfside managing partner Paul Sabers could not be reached for comment on fire precautions in the complex. A man in the shopping center office said he was off-island.
Francis noted that it's not within the jurisdiction of Fire Services to say whether the shopping center management should be permitting people to live on the premises. But if they do, he said, fire safety measures should be taken.
"That has to be the owner's concern," he said. He termed the Dec. 28 fire "a perfect example of what would happen if you had a situation like that occur and there were no smoke detectors in the living area. Those two people almost lost their lives."