A major fire in the Mt. Parnassus area in St. George’s yesterday threatened to do significant damage to the homes and property of some residents. The firemen responded quickly to reports of a fire in the area and commenced their perilous battle to put out the blaze. They were assisted in their effort by members of the Richmond Hill Prison and the St. George’s University as well as by concerned residents. To date, no home has been lost to the fire. Up to late last evening, over 20, 000 gallons of water were already used to try and contain the fire, which, according to experts, is likely to burn for about 24 hours or so. This is happening when there is a major shortage of water on the island because of drought-like conditions that the island has been experiencing since the start of the new year. The Fire Department of the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) has had to respond to bush fires on almost a daily basis. There have been major outbreaks of fire in the Willis and Mt. Moritz areas and a number of persons have been arrested for setting fires. The Government of Grenada, Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) and the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) have all made appeals to Grenadians to use water very wisely and to refrain from setting any fires because of the ease with which the fire can spread and get out of control given the present drought-like conditions and the dry nature of the vegetation.