Onlookers gather at the Eventide Home for the Aged in the aftermath of the devastating fire that killed 153 old women on May 20, 1980. (Gleaner file photo)
Local Government and Community Development Minister Desmond McKenzie
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Desmond McKenzie, Minister of Local Government and Community Development
Cabinet has approved a submission for May 20 to be commemorated annually as a national day of remembrance for the more than 145 elderly women who lost their lives in a fire at the Eventide home in St. Andrew on that day in 1980.
The submission was made by Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie.
In his 2025-26 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Mr. McKenzie said the local government ministry will take the responsibility of a paying tribute to the fire victims.
“And I’m not going to wait until next May for it to happen, Madam Speaker. Once we have declared it Madam Speaker, we will take necessary steps to start the ball rolling. A proper monument, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the country should never forget what took place, Madam Speaker. We have had incidents where the poor and the destitute were scraped up and dumped in a mud lake. The country cannot and we must never, Madam Speaker, go back to those days where the poor and destitute suffers, Madam Speaker,” said the impassioned minister.
Mr. McKenzie pointed out that the day of commemoration will not be a public holiday, but rather a memorial observance.
The incident, which occurred 45 years ago, is the deadliest fire in the country’s history.
Although a national day of mourning was declared shortly after the fire and the remains of the victims are interred in a grave at National Heroes Park, there has never been an official day to mark the incident.