THE thick black smoke that engulfed Middle Road in Garapan late Monday afternoon, along with the smell of burning, alerted commuters and residents to a fire originating from Navy Hill.
Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services and Department of Public Safety personnel responded to the fire scene, which was beside Blue Hill apartments.
Police blocked the access road to the area for safety purposes and to allow fire and emergency trucks to come and go.
Witnesses told Variety that the fire was caused by burning trash.
Assistant Chief of Police Simon Manacop, DPS’ acting public information officer, described it as a “brush and trash fire.”
According to DFEMS, on Monday, July 8, 2024, at approximately 3:327 p.m., “a male caller reported a trash fire close to his apartment, Blue Hill…in Navy Hill.”
At 3:29 p.m., DFEMS added, “Forestry-2, Engine- 2, and Medic- 2, responded to the described location. At 3:33 p.m. all three units were the first to arrive on the scene, conducted a scene size up and reported to dispatch that there was a trash fire that was near a structure. It looked like piles of wood and other debris and the fire was heading towards the surrounding vegetation. At 7:21 p.m. Alpha Shift Commander Captain C. Laniyo reported that the main fire was under control and they were beginning mop up. The Division of Fire Prevention and Arson investigators arrived on the scene to investigate and assess the cause of fire. At this time the cause of the fire remains under investigation and will be determined at a later date by DFAI.”
A firefighter snuffs out the flames in an area near a Navy Hill apartment on Monday, July 8, 2024.
