STUDENTS of St. John’s College, on Waterloo Street, Georgetown, were evacuated yesterday morning after a loud explosion emanated from the Guyana Power & Light (GPL) meter on the premises.

The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) responded to the alert and the school population was forced to seek refuge on the Burnham Park (Parade Ground) tarmac, across the street.

The Guyana Chronicle was informed that no blaze resulted from the sparks and smoke.
While it was confirmed that none of the children or their teachers was injured, neither Headteacher Joy Nurse nor an education official who visited the school cared to comment on the issue.
Nurse preferred not to be on camera, declaring that she is not good looking.
However, a vendor who sells outside the schoolyard said she was speaking to her daughter, who is a student there, when she heard the loud sound and observed the meter on the façade of the building smoking.
The headteacher then looked through a window and enquired about the source of the noise.
The students had just returned to their classrooms following a mid-morning snack break but had to leave again as a teacher rang the bell to indicate they must exit the building and compound.
One of the students said, on the smell of burning wire, he began to enquire if there was a fire and, within seconds, the bell rang to effect the evacuation.
The GFS responded with two tenders and it was determined, after a check, that there was a fault at the connection between the meter and the electricity cable from the light pole.
Written By Leroy Smith