A fire which started yesterday in a cemetery aback of the South Road Municipal Buildings, swept out of control seriously threatening the South Road Nursery School, Day Care Centre and Health Centre, which contained scores of children at the time.

Also threatened were the neighbouring offices of the Guyana Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS to the east of the cemetery and several boutiques along Bourda Street in the west.
Had it not been for the public-spirited nature of two young men in the area who scaled the cemetery fence and began dousing the fire in earnest, assisted by female Day Care Attendants and teachers who formed a bucket brigade, the magnificent wooden Municipal Centre (a heritage building), would have gone up in flames, signalling the start of a major inferno in that part of the city.
Staff at the municipal facilities said that the fire in the cemetery started around 13:45hrs and they immediately alerted the fire department. They expressed utter disappointment and outrage that the fire tenders never responded to their call until well over half an hour, by which time the fire was fiercely making its way towards the municipal building, accompanied by thick black billowing smoke, forming a blanket over the area.
When the first unit arrived, the firefighters concentrated their attention on the area to the north of the cemetery and closer to Regent Street, but within minutes the 400-gallon water container on the fire tender was exhausted, rendering the firemen powerless to continue their fight as there was no water reservoir or trench where they were parked.
Asked for a response, a senior fire official at the scene said that, it is the policy to always respond promptly to calls which report fire.  However, he said that before being able to comment on the response on this occasion, he would first have to check the log books to see when the calls were received and at what time the units were dispatched.  In relation to charges about the tenders arriving at the scene without water, he explained that the water capacity in a fire tender is only 400 gallons, which is used up pretty fast, once the men begin fire fighting.  “Therefore for persons to say that the fire department dispatched tenders without water, would not be accurate,” he said.
Pandemonium broke out, as teachers and Day Care attendants, on realizing the impending danger, hurriedly evacuated the children out of the buildings and huddled them into a safe corner of the compound until they could be picked up by their parents and guardians.
By then the entire neighbourhood was engulfed in smoke, but Day Care workers and male civilian volunteers, braved the threat of smoke inhalation, with visibility greatly reduced, to find water and douse the fire. Also proving a great source of help were the GBCHA’s four black water tanks storing water in their compound. Volunteer rescue workers climbed to the top of the tanks and dipped water, using buckets, to fight the fire.
Soon after, they were joined by firemen who became part of the bucket brigade pending the arrival of a second unit around 15:00hrs.
That unit sourced water from the South Road outfall trench and managed to effectively keep the flames moving towards the municipal building at bay, but at the expense of the  boutiques owned by small businessmen and women operating along Bourda Street in the west.
By then, fanned by the breeze blowing across from the east, areas which had earlier been doused by fire fighters began flaring up once more, and soon there were several pockets of fire popping up in the condemned grave yard and heading towards at least three boutiques.  This was seriously aggravated by tyres dumped in the cemetery, which was like adding fuel to the flames.  But by then, the fire fighters had all moved towards the Municipal building, and perhaps because of the density of the smoke, were not aware of the danger being faced in the clothes vending area.
Left to fend for themselves, the tearful and hapless owners, including Debra Richards and Sonia Archer, fetched water from a yard across the road, which they used to douse the flames fast approaching their businesses. It was not until reporters brought this situation to the attention of a senior fire official who had just arrived on the scene, that one of the hoses was diverted to aid in protecting the boutiques.
Staff at both the Municipal Health Centre and Day Care Centre were adamant declaring, “They are not efficient; they turn up here and have no water; they need to have things in place, so that when they get here they have water to fight the fire.”
Meanwhile, the Guyana Chronicle caught up with Deputy Mayor, Mrs. Patricia Chase-Greene who visited the scene after learning about the fire.
“I responded to a call that there’s a fire and it’s affecting the children and they (teachers and attendants) were afraid that the fire might have reached the building. She said when se arrived the fire tender was on Bourda Street and later another one came up, Ms. Greene said.
The Deputy Mayor commended the two men (one from Leopold Street and another wearing a pink jersey), who were of great help in forming a bucket brigade and keeping the fire at bay. She recalled that when she arrived the Chest Clinic and GBCHA building was already threatened and staff at the Municipal Health Centre were removing computers and other tools and equipment from the building for fear they would be destroyed. She commended staff of the Municipal facilities for their sterling contribution in whatever way.
Ms. Greene recalled that earlier in the morning on her way to work, she noticed a fire tender in Regent Street, tending to a fire closer to Regent Street. It would therefore appear that the area had been threatened on previous occasions, since other persons told of a fire having started there on Tuesday as well. It was put out by the fire department.
There was speculation yesterday that ‘junkies’ may have started the fire in the cemetery, but other persons feel that it could have been  as a result of dry grass which was recently cut. Whatever the cause, citizens say, the fire department should be suitably prepared at all times.