[UPDATED] 'Major disaster' averted at Queen's Park Oval

A FIRE at the famous Queen's Park Oval in St Clair was quickly extinguished on January 20.

Queen's Park Cricket Club president Dr Nigel Camacho and a fire officer praised officers from the TT Fire Service headquarters (Port of Spain) and the Four Roads Fire Station for their prompt response.

At 10.30 am, fire officers responded to a report of a blaze at the Shell/Scotiabank stand, located at the northwest side of the Oval.

Fans of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) would have been concerned about significant damage to one of the venues where they cheer the Trinbago Knight Riders. However, the blaze was contained in a short time.

Two corporate boxes were damaged during the fire.

Speaking to the media, Camacho said, "The investigative team is going to arrive shortly to (determine) the actual cause of the fire. It seems to have started in the Shell corporate booth and it spread laterally to NLCB (box) through the air conditioning ducting and it is very minimal damage to NLCB. There is substantial damage to the Shell booth. All in all, it seems to be under control."

A fire officer attached to headquarters, who wished to remain anonymous, commended the officers. "They did do an excellent job under the circumstances...their response time was impeccable and they operated like a well-oiled machine so that they averted a major disaster."

Assistant chief fire officer Earl Sampson was one of the officers leading the investigation.

Camacho thanked the officers. "I want to congratulate the fire services for the very rapid response, they were here within minutes...and got things quickly under control and probably saved a lot of damage from happening.

"The good news there was nobody around, so no injuries, nothing to report. The place was empty."

Camacho said he was nearby when the fire began. "Luckily I operate from next door, so I quickly ran into the street to see because my friends instantly sent me videos of the smoke billowing from the building, so I ran across."

Camacho said it is too early to discuss the renovations that will need to be done.

If the fire was not controlled so quickly it could have brought a devastating end to the oval's long and rich history. The oval opened its doors in 1896 and first hosted international cricket when West Indies played England in 1930.

The Queen's Park Oval is not only memorable for West Indies cricketers. In the early 1970s, a youthful Sunil Gavaskar earned the respect of TT fans with his ability to bat and bat long.

Many would remember 1994 when West Indies fast bowler Sir Curtly Ambrose took 6/24 to help dismiss England for only 46. The decades of the 1990s and 2000s were a special time as those who attended matches witnessed the extraordinary talent of Brian Lara. The pavilion at the oval is now named after the legendary batsman.

As the years went by, the 50-over and T20 formats brought more spectators to the venue.

The CPL has attracted massive crowds since the tournament began in 2013, bringing more energy to the venue.

This story was originally published with the title "Fire at Queen's Park Oval quickly extinguished" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

A fire at the famous Queen's Park Oval in St Clair was quickly extinguished on January 20.

Queen's Park Cricket Club president Dr Nigel Camacho praised officers from the TT Fire Service headquarters (Port of Spain) and the Four Roads Fire Station (Diego Martin) for their prompt response.

At 10.30 am, fire officers responded to a report of a blaze at the Shell/Scotiabank stand, on the northwest side of the Oval.

Fans of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League would have been concerned about significant damage to one of the venues where they cheer the Trinbago Knight Riders. However, the blaze was contained in short time.

Two corporate boxes were damaged during the fire.

Speaking to the media, Camacho said, "We got an extremely quick response from the fire officers...The investigative team is going to arrive shortly to (determine) the actual cause of the fire. It seems to have started in the Shell corporate booth and it spread laterally to NLCB (box)."