By: Arron Williams
July 10 2024
There is no evidence that Usain Bolt's home was caught in a house fire.
Context
A viral Facebook post with over 60,000 views shows a picture of retired Olympic athlete Usain Bolt and his family. The post claims in the caption: "Fire Outbreak: Tragic House Fire in Jamaica Claims Lives of Usain Bolt's House Wife and Children…"
Screenshot of the viral Facebook post. (Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
The viral post, while it does not explicitly mention Hurricane Beryl, was made following this natural disaster, leaving several homes in Jamaica without power.
However, there is no evidence that Usain Bolt's house in Jamaica recently caught fire or that his partner and children died in a fire.
In fact
No articles about a recent fire at Bolt's home were found in the Jamaica Observer, the daily newspaper based in Kingston, or the Jamaica Star, a leading entertainment newspaper in Jamaica. There is also no report on Bolt's X feed (archived version here). Bolt's partner, Kasi Bennett, has been active on social media following the Facebook claim that she has died, resharing posts on X.
The image in the Facebook post is not of Bolt's house but a stock image of a fire from Shutterstock; we found no images of a fire at Bolt's home.
Usain Bolt retired in 2017 due to injuries and has spent his time pursuing other opportunities, such as a small push into football and work helping to inspire future generations of athletes. Bolt has a home in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, but he has also previously owned property in Australia. There is also no evidence of his Australian property having caught fire.
Logically Facts contacted Usain Bolt's team and the Jamaican Fire Brigade but has received no response.
The Facebook post also states "Details below" and links to a webpage by BoomLyrics.com.ng." The link itself appears suspicious and will not load; we have not shared it as it may contain a virus. However, Boom Lyrics is not an official news source, and search results show it as a website for downloading music.
Screenshot of the google search result when searching for the website. (Source: Google)
The website also has a Nigerian ".ng" web domain. The website is not a news source from Jamaica.
The verdict
There is no evidence that there was a recent fire at Usain Bolt's house in Jamaica or that his wife and children died in a house fire. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.