Fire At NMIA Departure Lounge Extinguished

A fire that occurred in the Departure Lounge at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston earlier this evening has been extinguished.

Firefighters from the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) and the NMIA Fire Services responded to the incident. There have been no reports of injuries.

Speaking in an interview with JIS News, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ), Audley Deidrick, indicated that at approximately 7:30 pm a fire was discovered in the terminal. “It was an equipment fire that was extinguished and there were no reported injuries from the incident,” he said.

Checks revealed that the fire originated from an air conditioning unit in the Club Kingston Lounge.

“This generated smoke throughout the building as it was picked up and circulated through the vents of the air conditioning system,” Mr. Deidrick he pointed out, noting that fortunately, it was not a large fire.

Mr. Deidrick said that as a precautionary measure, the terminal was evacuated and travelers held on the outside.

He said that flights were affected, with three aircraft held on the ground with passengers aboard.

The AAJ President said that the airport management team is doing a walk-through of the terminal to determine the facility’s readiness for reopening and to commence processing of passengers in a short while.