Quick community response minimises Linden school fire damage
THE early morning fire at Wismar/Christianburg Secondary School in Linden, Wednesday, destroyed male and female washrooms, the Senior Master and Mistress rooms, two smaller staff rooms and a reading room. Headteacher Cleveland Thomas, who made the report, after quick action put out the blaze and minimise the damage, said a whole lot of materials were lost but a television and DVD player were saved.
News of the raging flames that engulfed the 36-year-old building, which housed 1,100 students on top Blueberry Hill on the western shore of the Demerara River, hit Lindeners before sunrise.
As it turned out, a major catastrophe was averted and only a relatively small section of the huge edifice was damaged, as Guyana Fire Service GFS) water tenders were able to control the flames.
Mr. Thomas said the school opened in 1975 and this is his seventh year at the helm, with the first such experience.
He said the first telephone call he received, about 03:30 hrs, indicated that the entire structure was ablaze but, when he dialed 911, he was advised that firemen had already been dispatched.
“When I got up here, there were about 1,500 people in the compound, persons on the ground were praying, some came all the way from Mackenzie and, yes, the regional officials were all here in their numbers and they were planning strategically what we would do next and the way forward,” Thomas related.
“I must thank God that it’s not worse,” he said, adding that he would not speculate on the origin.
Although there were no classes yesterday, Thomas announced that today’s graduation is still schedule to go on.
Teacher Roxanne Bacchus, one of  those in the eight apartments under the block affected, said she was awake around 02:00 hrs when she heard a strange sound upstairs and, after listening attentively, awakened her son and, he, too, got the impression that things were falling.
They decided to go outside and, on seeing the conflagration, raised the alarm and other neighbours ran through the gate and started calling out the others and more residents in the community who responded promptly.
Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice Regional Chairman Mortimer Mingo, who was on the scene, lamented the inadequacy of the firefighting capability in Linden, especially in Wismar on Wismar Hill.
However, despite the availability of water posing a tremendous problem, the firemen made several shuttles and, through collaboration with public-spirited citizens, were able to control the situation.
He said after: “There are no working fire hydrants up here and even the resources in the school water tanks were wholly inadequate.”
Another teacher, Lois Moseley, who heads the Home Economics Department and occupies an apartment, noted: “Everyone was able to bring out their stuff, thanks to the community members.”
No estimate of the loss was available up to yesterday.