The cause of fire the second in a week at the building known to all as the Roseau Public Library remains a mystery to many.
On August 21, 2020, the fire department and police were alerted to a fire at the building, quick action prevented the blaze from consuming the building which was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and has not yet been repaired.
Again, on August 29, 2020, just past 10.30 pm fire officials and the police were called to the scene for another fire.
Investigations are ongoing to ascertain the cause of this mysterious fire…arson is not being ruled out since the building is now derelict and unoccupied.
Sad to read. My memory recalls many Saturday mornings shifting through the varied sections of the shelves in the library in search for my age favourite story books. Sitting in a circle with many other boys and girls under the hugh cashew tree, listening to interesting stories, read to us by the librarian in charge, was something exciting to look forward to.
Not forgetting madam Brownal, who trained, and drilled us as ‘Brownies’ and ‘Girl Guides’ on the premises of the library. It was every parent’s pride and joy to enroll their junior, and teenage daughters in this prestigious fraternity. Etched in the memory of my subconscious is the life lesson taught to us while overlooking at the reflection of ourselves in the pond which was built in the middle of the library grounds.
The story speaks about “The Dog And The Bone”. The story describes a dog seeing an enlarged reflection of itself with a bone in its mouth, through the waves of the water in the pond. Attracted by the enlarged size of the bone, the dog anxiously dropped its bone into the water in much anticipation of snatching what its eyes saw. Poor doggie!!!!, fooled by mere counterfeit, nothingness, emptiness. Every week Brownal failed not to expose us to this life long lesson. And for this, I have ever been grateful. My life was skillfully crafted, and shaped on the grounds on the Roseau, Dominica library.