Oranjestad, St. Eustatius- The building housing the Tourism Office in Statia’s capital Oranjestad late Friday afternoon was seen on fire. The fire, generating quite some smoke, seemed to be burning out of control in the early evening hours.

The building, called the Godet House and located on the Kerkweg, is the second building in the historical center to be lost due to fire in a relatively short time span. On September 2019, a building also severely damaged the building known locally as Old School.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. Residents this afternoon speculated about the fact that the repression of the fire may have been hampered by the lack of sufficient water on the island.

The last few weeks St. Eustatius has been plagued by a serious lack of water, as utility company STUCO is faced with various leaks in the water distribution network.

The Godet house was property of the late Horace Godet, who also used to run his ’toko’ from that location. The building is of enormous historical value to the island and, if lost, can be considered a terrible blow to the island and its ‘historical core’.