–losses estimated in millions of dollars
MILLIONS of dollars were lost to Solicitor General Sita Ramall and seven others yesterday, when an early morning fire, believed to be electrical in origin, destroyed her residence at Lot 2, Bel Air, Greater Georgetown.

Two persons were injured in the conflagration, when the building and all its contents were under siege by fire.

Speaking as one of the displaced persons yesterday morning, Major General (retired) Norman McLean said that when banging noises aroused him from sleep at around 04:00 hrs, he got up to see thick smoke and fire inside the building.

McLean said all the occupants managed to get safely out of the burning building, but one person was cut trying to open a window, and another was scorched by the flames in attempting to exit the building.

The two consequently sought medical attention at a city hospital.

McLean said everything inside the building was destroyed, since everyone had to hurriedly exit the building, which was quickly engulfed in flames. McLean, who is a former Army Chief of Staff, said they are all thankful for life spared.
He was surrounded by the displaced persons, including Ms. Sita Ramlall, and they were all distraught as they gathered under a shed at the back of the gutted edifice yesterday morning.
As news of the fire spread, scores of family members, friends, colleagues and other persons, including Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandall, acting Chief Justice Ian Chang, and Managing Director of NAMILCO, Bert Sukhai, showed up to lend support to the displaced occupants of the home.
Members of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) were still on the scene yesterday morning, investigating the cause of the fire, as well as dousing the embers. Several visitors to the scene were rummaging through the debris in an effort to recover items of value, and a firearm magazine belonging to McLean was recovered in the upper flat of the building.
Occupants of the home included Ms. Sita Ramlall, her mother, brother and sister.
In commenting on the fire, Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle told the Guyana Chronicle that the GFS was alerted by multiple telephone calls sometime after 03:30 hrs, and two fire tenders and a tanker from the Central and Campbellville Fire Stations responded to the fire.
A security guard on duty reportedly stated that she observed the front curtain in the upper flat of the building on fire shortly after a male occupant of the house had let out his girlfriend.
Gentle noted that the building was a wooden and concrete structure which was quickly consumed by the fire, which started in the upper flat of the house; and water sourced from a trench in front of the residence helped firemen on the scene to contain the blaze.
The house next door was saved, but three water tanks mounted on a trestle were all burnt, whilst nearby trees were scorched.

Gentle added that when the GFS arrived on the scene, the building was completely engulfed.

Several birds and rabbits on the premises escaped harm and were yesterday resting comfortably in their respective cages, while the sheds at the back of the house were spared, and provided shelter for the hapless occupants and their visitors yesterday.

The frame of the building was partly visible, and the contents therein were water soaked and damaged.

A Toyota Fortuner vehicle was also spared, and was seen parked inside the sprawling lawns of the compound, which were partly flooded.

Meanwhile, the GFS responded to another fire call early yesterday morning, this time at a Christian church at Kuru Kuru, Soesdyke/Linden Highway. They managed to save the building, but all the reading materials were destroyed by what is believed to be the act of an arsonist.

NEW SOLICITOR GENERAL

Ms. Sita Ramlall, against whom several forgery charges were dismissed, took up office as Solicitor General on November 8, 2011. Her appointment now means that the post of Solicitor General has been filled for the first time in at least 10 years. The previous office holder, Senior Counsel Fitz Peters, has gone into private practice.
Ramlall had resigned as High Court Registrar back in 2009 to pave the way for her and Norman Mc Lean to answer the forgery charges.

Sita Ramlall and Norman McLean, who is also the President of the Guyana Association of Private Security Organisations (GAPSO), were accused of forging certain judicial documents in connection with the adoption of a child by someone who resides in the United States.

The documents were presented to the United States Embassy, triggering an investigation and subsequent prosecution.