7th August 1891

St Helier burned by a huge fire

Dense clouds of smoke billowed above Fort Regent when commercial buildings caught fire in St Helier. Yet nobody could see how the fire, which blazed in a built-up part of town, had started. Both the police and military (the latter from Fort Regent), rushed to the scene and doused the flames using a hydrant, assisted by members of the public who climbed onto the roofs of neighbouring buildings and threw buckets of water. However, they were unable to save one of the burning stores, which was destroyed, in part because it housed wine and flammable spirits.