Police have enlisted the support of UK forensic experts as they continue to investigate the cause of the house explosion on 5 June in Newlands.
RCIPS Detective Superintendent Peter Lansdown, speaking on the Cayman Compass talkshow ‘The Resh Hour’ on 14 June, said the forensic experts were brought in to examine the scene and determine the cause, and he is awaiting their formal report.
The investigation into the blast, he said, was being conducted under the Criminal Investigations Department.
“Basically we need to establish how that happened. It’s the first explosion I think anyone’s got in memory of buildings blowing up like that. It was dramatic. It was extreme. Very fortunately, no one has died,” he said.
Four people were hurt in the blast. One of them, father-of-two Rex Watler, 44, was taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital in critical condition and remained there for a week. He has since been discharged.
Dr. Dave Schudel, a fire investigation expert from the UK, is leading the inquiry into the blast.
Lansdown said while the report on the cause of the explosion is being completed, he has been briefed on possible reasons for the explosion.
However, he declined to say what those were, until the final report is handed in.
“I’ve got some ideas. We’re confident we know what has probably caused it, but who has caused that problem to happen is still for us to determine… There’s a lot of joined-up parts to investigate this – other agencies involved as well,” he said.
Safety concerns raised
Residents living near the severely damaged home are calling for the property to be dealt with urgently as they fear the debris from the blast could be a safety hazard during hurricane season.
Police, over the weekend, released the site of the Bayfield Crescent blast; however, they cautioned members of the public not to venture onto the property.
“The Planning Department has deemed the structure where the incident occurred as UNSAFE to enter or occupy,” police said in a press release.
The Compass has reached out to the Planning Department for comment on the situation and what the next steps are, given the condition of the house.
A neighbour, speaking with the Cayman Compass Tuesday, expressed concern over the state of the property and the hazard it poses.
“We need to know what they are doing with the property,” she said. “It’s a mess. I mean, if hurricane come now, then what? There’s more damages to people’s property ’cause that going to blow all over the place and they not cleaning it up. They need to do something. We just beginning in the hurricane season.”
She said while she knows that August through September is the more active period during hurricane season, she stressed that dealing with the property should be a matter of urgency.
“You never know… all that stuff is here, we need to get it cleaned up,” she said.
She said other neighbours have expressed the same concerns, adding that those living in the immediate vicinity of the blast are still dealing with repairing their own damaged homes.
“I lost 10 windows, my front door and my kitchen ceiling,” she said, explaining that she has no home insurance so she is paying for repairs out of her own pocket.
She said some of her neighbours face the same situation.
Repairs continue
On Friday, 9 June, after police officially reopened the road which had been cordoned off since the blast, neighbours were given the all-clear to begin making repairs to their damaged properties.
The resident said she has been trying to get in contact with the owner of the destroyed home about the repairs, because it if it were insured, she believes that could help pay for repairs of other affected homes.
“I’ve had my windows replaced, but… I have [to] pay that back, and I have a door that cost me $3,000 to $3,500 to repair because it’s blown out from the bottom and the glass in the middle is blown out as well,” she said.
She said she is a single mother and, while she feels for the Watler family, she hopes something can be done to assist impacted residents like herself.
“I know [they are] in a bad situation, but you know [so are] us surrounding neighbours as well,” she said, adding that the property was on the market, so questions remain as to the status of the insurance at the house and who has to deal with the damage.
She said she was grateful that things were not much worse, and added her son was home alone at the time of the blast.
“He had a ringing in his ears for like two days, but he’s better,” she said.
Friends of the Watlers have been appealing for assistance from the community to find local lodging for the family of six who have been left homeless.
A shopping cart remains open at Foster’s Countryside, labelled ‘Donation for Watler family’, to accept food and other supplies for the affected family.
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