Three fires over the weekend destroy house, VINLEC poles

Three fires over the weekend destroyed a dwelling house and several poles belonging to the St Vincent Electricity Services (VINLEC) but luckily, there was no loss of life.

Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves spoke of the fires during a press conference at Cabinet Room yesterday, April 8, 2025.

He said the Chief Executive Officer of the St Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC), Dr Vaughn Lewis informed him that the first fire took place on Saturday night, April 5, in the Edinboro area. That fire damaged three VINLEC poles that were on an 11 kilovolts (kV) distribution feeder which typically supplies customers directly from the Lowman’s Bay power station.

Affected customers were temporarily supplied through the Kingstown network.

The Prime Minister said the poles damaged on Saturday are located in an area that is inaccessible by vehicle and poses logistical challenges for VINLEC, but noted that restoration efforts were underway with the aim of returning the service by the end of yesterday Monday, April 7.

A second fire occurred on Sunday night, April 6, 2025 in the Upper New Montrose area, which destroyed five VINLEC poles on a 33 kV transmission line that links the Cane Hall and Lowman’s Bay station via Kingstown. “Temporary service disruptions occurred due to switching operations required to isolate the damaged section. These poles are also situated in a location that is difficult to access by vehicle. Restoration work is ongoing with a target completion date of Wednesday, April 9,” Gonsalves said. A house was destroyed in that fire.

“I’ve been advised that there are no injuries. I await a report on this house,” the Prime Minister added.

Also on Sunday, a fire occurred near the Lowman’s Bay power station within the compound of Rudy’s Electrical Contracting Company Limited.