ST. THOMAS – Malique Daniel had been at work for about half an hour early Wednesday when his phone rang. It was his father, calling to say that flames were coming from his unit at the Blackbeard’s Castle apartments on St. Thomas.
Daniel, who works as a mail distributor, said the call came at 5:05 a.m., just as he was about to collect mail from a flight at Cyril E. King Airport. He raced home.
“I drove straight to my apartment, and I actually saw my apartment was on fire,” Daniel said.
What he did not see, he said, were emergency responders.
“My dad told me that he already called 911 and stuff, and I still end up reaching before 911 first responders,” he said.
Daniel said he arrived at about 5:15 a.m. and called 911 himself when he saw no fire crews.
“I live on a hill,” he said. “So, while I’m on the phone with 911, I’m looking at every direction that I know that they’re gonna take a route from, and I haven’t seen any responders as yet.”
In a press release, Virgin Islands Fire and Emergency Medical Services stated that they responded to reports of a structure fire at 45-46 Prindsens Gade, Blackbeard’s Castle apartments at approximately 5:16 a.m.
“Crews from Hotel Company responded to the scene and, upon arrival, immediately encountered heavy smoke and flames,” the agency said in a statement. “Due to the intensity of the blaze additional units were quickly dispatched, prompting a full response from all available VIFEMS units on the island.”
According to Daniel, they arrived on scene at 5:50 a.m. Despite the delay he described, Daniel said he was grateful for the firefighters’ work.
“I want to just thank everybody for just trying to help me control the fire,” he said. “Grateful for the firefighters as always. But I just wish things could have been different.”
Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to nearby structures, and no injuries were reported. But the building was destroyed. Daniel lost all of his belongings, including camera equipment for his media business.
“That took a big part of me,” he said. “Everything is destroyed now.”
But, a day after the fire, some happy news. Daniel believed both of his kittens died in the blaze, until he learned that Bobbi managed to escape, showing up at the burned building and kept safe by a neighbor. But the other, Zobbi, wasn’t as lucky.
Daniel said all four units in the building were destroyed, displacing him and three other tenants. But when it comes to the cause of the fire, he said he has no idea how it could have started.
“I didn’t touch any electronics before I left the house,” he said. “No stove, nothing. No microwave, nothing. I just woke up, put on my work clothes, feed my cats and I out the door.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the VIFEMS Arson Investigation and Prevention Team.
In addition to his full-time job and his media business, Daniel supplements WTJX’s operations during large productions. One of the station’s employees, Jordan Petty, immediately launched a GoFundMe campaign to help Daniel “replace essential camera and video equipment so he can get back to work, rebuild his living situation and cover immediate basic needs.”
