This morning as I set out on my run, I noticed it was cloudy. As I rounded the corner onto the intersection of Hope and Waterloo Roads, I noticed a gigantic black cloud to the south, right in the business district. There is nothing like seeing a massive, dirty cloud on the horizon to prompt some apocalyptic-type thoughts. It was creepy. My mind immediately turned to the Riverton Dump fire, which happened just before I moved here.

As I neared the business area, it became clear that the fire was closer than I thought. In fact, it turns out the kitchen of the Wyndham Hotel is on fire. It was burning furiously as I passed, spewing some dangerous-looking smoke. There were several fire trucks, dozens of police cars and even more bystanders. Everybody was chatting, in a relaxed fashion, and taking pictures. Motorists were being redirected. I was a bit taken aback that the police did not shut off the area to pedestrians, as the smoke was thick and the fire was not yet under control. The kitchen of the hotel is a separate but adjoined structure off the main building. But no one was told to leave. I continued on to run in Emancipation Park, worried that my asthma would be triggered by the bad air. I was fine though, and was in good company with some of my fellow regular runners.

On the way back I learned that firefighters had only just gotten the fire under control as they had to let some gas burn off. I don’t think anyone was injured, even the news cameraman climbing on top of a fire truck to get a good shot of the flames licking the kitchen’s roof. Hopefully damage was minimal. Photo courtesy of Fabian Ohara photo via BlackBerry Messenger from the Jamaica Gleaner’s web site.