Janet Silvera, Gleaner Writer
DYER
WESTERN BUREAU:
IMMEDIATE PAST president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Godfrey Dyer, and two members of his staff are now patients at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, after sustaining third-degree burns in an explosion yesterday.
The three were hurt in a massive blast from a gas stove which shattered windows and doors of a commercial kitchen at The Wexford at Sea Castles Hotel at 9:00 a.m. yesterday.
Mr. Dyer suffered burns to 40 per cent of his body from his neck down to his toes, while a dining room supervisor, Ann-Marie Grooves, who is reportedly the worst affected of the three, suffered burns to more than 60 per cent of her body.
The third person, Nadine Street, resident manager received burns to 15 per cent of her body.
"It's a bad burn," said medical doctor, Horace Chang. While he is not the doctor treating Mr. Dyer, Dr. Chang was one of the persons allowed into the accident and emergency unit at the hospital.
The three are being treated by Montego Bay-based plastic surgeon Dr. Geoff Williams.
PRECAUTION
In the meantime, reports from Horace Peterkin, president of the JHTA, who spoke on behalf of Mr. Dyer, are that the main gas supply at the hotel was turned off on Friday night as a precaution against Hurricane Emily that was approaching the island.
On Saturday morning, a member of staff went into the kitchen and attempted to light the stove. After an unsuccessful attempt, she turned on another stove, in the process forgetting to turn off the previous one.
Later that morning, the head chef turned back on the main gas supply, causing a build-up of gas in the line. This sent off a strong odour in the vicinity of the kitchen and it was that odour which Mr. Dyer and his two managers went to investigate.
They were in the process of checking the stoves when one of the units exploded. Mr. Dyer said after the explosion, he realised his pants were on fire, burning his body, and the only thing he could do was to jump into the nearby swimming pool. Mr. Dyer, owner of The Wexford in Montego Bay, recently took over the condominium-style property, making his debut into the family all-inclusive market.
