CHIEF Fire Officer Marlon Gentle said the probe into the cause of the blaze Monday night at GuyOil’s bond at Providence, East Bank Demerara is incomplete.He also noted that over $4M worth of foam and other chemicals were utilised to contain the blaze, which destroyed petroleum products valued thousands of dollars.
Gentle said a team of investigators from the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) are at the location to review surveillance footage and inspect the large bond in an effort to determine the source of the fire which started at about 20:00hrs.
It is not certain how the blaze started but shortly after smoke was observed coming from the storage bond, firemen were alerted and began their firefighting efforts and contained the fire.
Gentle added that the GFS responded with tenders from Diamond, West Ruimveldt and the Central Fire Station and executed industrial fire-fighting operations.
They were aware they were dealing with petroleum products, oils and additives which are extremely different from a basic house fire, the Fire Chief said.
“This threat we don’t handle lightly because it has the propensity to expand, to deteriorate or to get into a next phase very rapidly. This is petroleum products [sic] and this does not take any bluff,” Gentle remarked.
Meanwhile, referring to another incident, he said that the Wednesday night fire which destroyed a wooden two-storey house at Lot 3 Bladen Hall, East Coast Demerara, was caused by a lamp that was left unattended. Two persons are displaced following that conflagration.
Rafeena Hassan, 52, and her husband Ivan Calistro, 72, occupied the bottom flat of the house which is relatively aged and were the caretakers for several years.
The building is without electricity and a lamp was used by the couple, who were preparing to retire to bed for the evening when the fire started and quickly consumed the house.
However, a bucket brigade formed by residents saved a house/store next door from the blaze. (Michel Outridge)