EVERYONE knows that 75 per cent of the buildings in the city and environs are made of wood. We therefore need an efficient and reliable Fire Department. Do we have one? I have been a firefighter for over 60 – yes – 60 years for being in the Police Force, we had to attend every fire and assist both in helping the Fire Brigade and preventing looting and also crowd control. Looting was a free for all involving civilians and firemen.

No property was ever searched after a fire for most of the looted articles would have been found there in these houses. I have seen men walking away with big fridges on their backs from a fire whereas if you were to ask the same man to move a fridge, he would say he had to get help. In the big fire in Duke Street in Kingston, I was nearly trapped under a house trying to save a car.

I also have a picture of myself in the vicinity of Bookers Drug Store during the big fire in Georgetown, when looting was the order of the day, when I saw hooligans cleaning out jewellery stores even by the firemen. In spite of the Fire Brigade getting modern machines with tanks carrying about a thousand gallons of water which is adequate in modern cities who have water hydrants, we have none now; we have to ask the scrap metal dealers for them. These modern cities don’t need trenches.

Recently, in the Regent Street fires, the Brigade, as usual, ran out of water. They ran hoses to the Church Street trench, but only got mud. I had spoken only a few weeks before telling him, the Fire Chief, that the Church Street trench was empty and one could see pieces of timber and boards which had been thrown into the trench by the carpenters working on St Georges School, and he should send a Hymac to dredge out the trench. He paid no heed, nor the City Engineer. We had rain soon after and the trench was overflowing, believe it or not, that is the time that the City Engineer sent an excavator to dig the trench. Of course it could not have been done. The Esso and Texaco oil companies have to move hundreds of thousands gallons of gasoline to their outstations and use big tankers. I stupidly suggested to the Chief Fire brigade officer to have two such tankers filled with water and on standby and in case of fire, these tankers follow the fire engines to the blaze and provide additional water. Sorry, I do not have a Dr or an MBA before by mane.

I only went to the UCS, (University of Commonsense). I am an ignoramus. For their incompetence, is everyone held accountable? Are these people promoted? Should they not be sent to other departments like HMPS to watch prisoners? Many fires outside of the City are only controlled by the Estate Fire Services.

I pay a very high premium to my insurance company and they will even get around paying me in case my building goes up in flames as they will be looking for excuses for not having to pay up for they make so much money as is evidenced by the new limousines the big boys get at the end of the year.

An alleyway separates my building from Clairans. This alleyway runs from Church Street north to Quamina Street. It has been blocked up for the past six months because of debris thrown into this alleyway. There is Globe Yard immediately north of Clairans – right up alongside the paling. Unfortunately, my building is across this alleyway and only about 30 feet from Globe Yard, a dangerous fire hazard. No Fire engine could operate there. I have spoken and written to the Chief Fire Brigade Officer to come and see this fire hazard. I am still waiting. I have, however, shown my insurance broker this situation. Don’t start to think of calling on the Mayor and City Council, they are the most competent body in existence in Guyana. What is mind boggling is this City Council, handling billions of taxpayers money, is run by people who have no qualifications whatever to handle such sums of money. They are all running around like turkeys without heads. Where is the Mayor? Why has he left his office at this time, after handing out a few contracts? Why has he bypassed Switzerland and headed for Seoul, South Korea? Who is paying for his trip? Why hasn’t City Hall taken any Court action against defaulters? Surely the threat of losing ones property should spur the owner to pay up, but the City Hall is permeated by friends and family who permit them to get away with murder.

Mr. Burrowes is supposed to have carried out an investigation on the Treasury Department of the M&CC, but he was only scratching the surface. We have ex-officers of the Treasury Department owning and running prosperous businesses in the eastern fringes of the city. We should demand that the government retain the services of a Canadian Audit company to come and carry out a forensic enquiry into the workings of City Hall. They will find that there are properties not listed in the records of City Hall, others owned by staffers of City Hall who have never paid rates and taxes for there are no records in the books.

I have made these allegations, now it is up to the powers that be to go into them and set them right. We have a very good Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Kellawan Lall but his hands seemed to be tied. He should take firm action to clean up this mess.
V.J. FITT