Terry Sealy’s Sunday morning, went from 0 to 100 very quickly when he was jumped out of his deep slumber to messages and calls about a fire at Worthing Square in Christ Church where he has two units located.
After a bumping, hectic and financially strong Saturday night, Sealy said that he went to bed with every intention to sleep in but the shocking news wiped all sleep from his eyes just after 8am. He said despite being assured by credible sources that his spot was untouched by the blaze, the constant barrage of texts and calls from concerned persons who thought his establishment went up in flames continued.
we can help assist as a unit together to get him back up and running
Sitting on the deck in front of his stall just before midday, with the faint smell of smoke lingering in the air since the Barbados Fire Service had hours earlier extinguished the fire that gutted and destroyed the Jamaican Reggae Jerk restaurant, Sealy was the picture of a grateful and reflective man.
He thanked everyone who reached out and expressed their concern locally and from overseas.
Chatting with Loop, he admitted, he was truly moved by the overwhelming response.
“I must say thanks to all of those individuals here and abroad who would have contacted me via message or telephone inquiring about me, being concerned about Terry’s Food Truck, I just want to tell them thanks for that support. We are safe and sound and up and running… Thank God that we can still try to provide that service today and beyond.”
The fire from the Jamaican restaurant only caused minor damage to the neighbouring Monut Gay bar truck, and considering the arrangement of the businesses in the Square, the prompt response of the Fire Service stopped what could have possibly been a most detrimental tragedy.
Loop asked Sealy if a fire in the Square was ever a nightmare of his before Sunday morning.
“Obviously you always think about that situation. Me, personally, I’ve had my scare a few months back, when I had a scare, but lucky for me, I was able to deal with it myself, and I was present, so I was able to handle it with the support of some of my colleagues. We were able to contain it before the Fire Service got here. So that really was luck for us.
“Unfortunately this morning [Sunday], it look as though when the Reggae Jerk caught afire no one happened to be here. So that was the unfortunate situation.”
Asked about any safety precautions being taken by establishments with the advice and assistance of the Fire Service, Sealy said that the firefighters not only responded fast to the blaze, but they have been popping in to keep businesses on their toes too.
“Well, I must say the Fire Service do their checks. They do come around and do encourage you to get the correct fire extinguisher.
“But what I think we might need to do is extend that training now to the staff. You know a person might figure well I’m a cook or I’m a chef or whatever, I’m not here to out a fire, but in case of emergency you still need to know how to use the fire extinguisher and fire blankets and so on.”
Speaking personally, he said, “I would have had a situation couple of months ago at NAPSAC, where one of my trucks, I had a fire extinguisher, but when the Fire Department came they told me it wasn’t the correct one for the amount of heat I’m using.
“So I must say the Fire Service do come around, not just here [at Worthing Square], all around, even private events and try to educate people as much as possible.”
In the food industry for more than 20 years, Sealy started in outside vending, catering and then expanded into the food trucks and so on.
Knowing the struggles of entrepreneurship, the ups and the downs, Sealy said he spoke to the owner of Reggae Jerk once the smoke cleared and told him, after the fire and police services conclude their investigations, he will not be alone in the rebuild.
“I spoke to him about the way forward, moving forward and hopefully soon as the police is finished and the fire service is finished all of their investigations, then we will be able to see how we can help assist as a unit together to get him back up and running, because he is a part of what we offer here, so obviously, that is what we will be doing.”
