Friends on island say that Ocean Grill will be open for dinner tonight. Gallows humor from a friend who was on site "If everyone on island had put a finger in a leak in the fire hose the fire would have been put out twice as quickly." Anecdotally, the crash pump for the cistern had to be fetched from a business in Coral Bay. It took more than 20 minutes for police to respond and start traffic control, which hindered the fire department.

The facts may take a while to come out, lots of lessons learned. But, fire fighting on an island like St. John is very tough with water restrictions and an underfunded volunteer fire department. We remember our donation to the Coral Bay Firehouse every year. They helped us in 2000 and have always been grateful for any help.

Cheers, RickG