Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Cause of massive HWP blaze still a mystery

Still a mystery: Fire and smoke billows from the roof of the HWP garage during the major fire on the premises on August 3 this year. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The cause of the massive HWP blaze is yet to be determined more than three months after flames ripped through the company’s building.The probe into the August 3 fire on St John’s Road, Pembroke, is currently on hold as the two fire investigators have not been at work.All the relevant information was gathered from the scene, then HWP staff were quizzed one-by-one on what they saw. But a report is yet to be drawn up as “all the information has to be put together”.It comes as one investigating officer has spent ten weeks on a training course in the UK and the other has been off sick for an extended period of time.Lieutenant Wenda Roberts, spokeswoman for Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service, said the officer currently in the UK would “make it his priority” when he returned from his training course in the next couple of weeks.She said: “The investigation is not complete, because the officers have not been here to complete it.“One is overseas for training and one is on long-term sick leave.“All the information is pretty much there. But we are behind, completion has been delayed.”Company bosses have never put a price on the fire damage, which destroyed the body and paint shop and showrooms.But just three weeks after the blaze a total of 21 staff were laid off, including body and paint technicians and administrative.The fire-hit business has also offered discounts of $2,000 to $3,000 on its cars and several hundred dollars off motorcycles.The Royal Gazette previously reported early indications suggested the fire may have been due to a faulty fuse box in one of the spray painting booths.HWP did not respond to request for comment.