News Releases

Carpark Fire Quickly Contained

For Release Upon Receipt - October 10, 2023

St. Augustine


St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. Oct 10, 2023 – At approximately 11:24 a.m. today, Tuesday, October 10, 2023, campus authorities were alerted to a fire incident involving four vehicles at the JFK Staff Carpark, situated on the southern side of The University of the West Indies (The UWI) St. Augustine Campus. We can confirm that no individuals have sustained injuries as a consequence of this incident.

In an immediate and coordinated response, the UWI Estate Police, the Campus Incident Management Team and the Emergency Volunteer team, rapidly sprang into action calling on the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Services who quickly arrived to contain the fire.

University personnel will continue to support the authorities and a full investigation into the cause of the fire is underway. Vehicle owners impacted by this incident have been contacted directly by our Emergency Response Team to address any concerns and provide support. Additionally, counselling services will be made available.

As of now, the priority shifts towards the assessment, cleaning, and necessary repairs required to restore the carpark to full functionality, ensuring its availability to our campus community.

END 

About The University of the West Indies  

The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region for the past 75 years.  

From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Open Campus, and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.  

The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and wider world. 

The UWI has been consistently ranked among the top universities globally by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists since its debut in the rankings in 2018. In addition to its leading position in the Caribbean in the World University Rankings, it is also in the top 25 for Latin America and the Caribbean and the top 100 global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old).  The UWI is also featured among the leading universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action.  

2023 marks The UWI’s 75th anniversary. The Diamond jubilee milestone themed “UWI at 75. Rooted. Ready. Rising.” features initiatives purposely designed and aligned to reflect on the past, confront the present, and articulate plans for the future of the regional University.  

Learn more at www.uwi.edu   

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