Shauna Jemmott
FOUR officers of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) are under close arrest as investigations continue into the alleged theft of a mobile phone from a fire scene at the home of Traffic Chief Dion Moore at Belfield, East Coast Demerara early on Tuesday morning.
Two phones were discovered missing from the home of the Traffic Chief after a fire of electrical origin, which started at about 00:45 hours, was extinguished, saving the home from total destruction.
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle has said the Guyana Fire Service will not tolerate any level of criminality among its ranks, and any officer found guilty of theft will be liable to punishment just like any other individual. Gentle said he received a report from the Traffic Chief that the phone was discovered by one of the officers in the fire engine.
A GFS unit from Mahaica responded to the report of the fire at Moore’s home sometime after 1:00 hour yesterday, and, with the help of public-spirited persons in the neighbourhood, was able to extinguish the fire, ventilate the home, and get the occupants out.
After the fire, Moore’s family observed that the cellphone was missing from a bedroom and raised an alarm. A search was conducted, and one of the phones was discovered in the fire engine.
“It’s clearly a case that someone had to touch it!” Gentle told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday. He said all four of the ranks on the scene at the time have been detained and interrogated by investigators from the Guyana Fire Service ‘C’ Division and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Gentle said the matter would be dealt with at the highest level, since the GFS has a no-tolerance policy against criminal activity.
“We do not condone any act of indiscipline or uncivil behaviour,” he said, adding that the alleged perpetrators had caused the Moore family additional grief “instead of helping the people to preserve their property.”
“Theft is a criminal offence. Any person (who commits theft) is culpable to face the full (force) of the law. We don’t keep those kinds of persons in our ranks. It is an unfortunate incident…we never expected a member of the joint services — who wears uniform, who is there to serve and protect — to descend to that level,” Gentle said.
He said this was the first incident of theft involving on-duty officers of the GFC in over 15 years. There once was a similar occurrence involving cash and jewelry being among the booty taken. The stuff was discovered in the homes of three of the officers who attended to that fire, and they were immediately dismissed, Gentle said.
He said that on behalf of the GFS, he had personally offered an apology to the Traffic Chief.
When the Guyana Chronicle visited the scene of the fire, at about 9:00 hours yesterday, Traffic Chief Moore, who was recently injured in a road accident, related to the Guyana Chronicle that he has no mobile phone, as both had gone missing. He also disclosed that one was recovered in the fire engine that was on the scene.
Contacted by the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, ‘C’ Division Commander Marlon Chapman confirmed that four officers of the Guyana Fire Service had been taken into custody and questioned, but were later released. He said the phone was recovered, and was not damaged.
