AN EARLY morning fire destroyed Christianburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday, reducing an important part of the Upper Demerara River community’s rich history to ashes. The blaze, which reportedly started in the upper flat of the two-storeyed building about 05:30 hrs, consumed the wooden structure which was constructed in 1803 by Scottish engineer John Patterson, as his mansion.
Apart from the court proceedings, which are conducted every Tuesday and Wednesday of each week in the bottom flat, the edifice also housed offices of the Regional Probation Department and the Linden Legal Aid Centre upstairs.
Among those at the scene were Chairman of Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice), Mr. Mortimer Mingo and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LINMINE Secretariat and Chairman of Linden Museum, Mr. Horace James.
An eyewitness, Mr. Colin Welch told the Guyana Chronicle he first saw smoke emanating from the kitchen area of the upper storey which accommodated the Linden Legal Aid Centre which was established in 2007.
He called the 911 number and kept calling until someone said the Linden Fire Station would respond but, by then, the plumes of smoke were bigger.
“I called back and the person who answered slammed down the phone,” Welch reported.
He opened the gate to the courtyard when a tender arrived after 06:00 hrs but said he felt the damage could have been minimised if the emergency call did not have to be relayed from Georgetown.
Another person, at the scene, Mr. Colin Rodney said the complete destruction could have been prevented if the appliance did not exhaust it’s water source and the pump had not malfunctioned, causing the flames to get out of control.
Office Manager of the Linden Legal Aid Centre, Ms. Cheryl Sears said: “It would affect us greatly because, as we had some 13 matters in the court and all our files and documentation were burnt. We even lost people’s marriage certificates. It is a big loss for us. We lost millions of dollars in equipment. Nothing was saved.’
Among other things, the Centre had four computers, one laptop, a refrigerator, a cabinet, fax machine, kitchen and kettles.
She declared she is unsure of the Centre’s future.