DURING the holiday season, the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) recorded six major fires which destroyed several buildings, leaving 13 persons homeless.As such, the Chief Fire Officer, Marlon Gentle yesterday warned that children should not be left unattended; kitchen appliances should be turned off before closing time at eating houses; and citizens should dispose of garbage in a proper manner, and desist from burning it.
CHRISTMAS EVE
Gentle stated that on Christmas Eve at about 03:35 hrs, a fire consumed two shacks aback the Botanical Gardens, leaving three persons homeless. He added that in this conflagration, the cause is still being investigated.
CHRISTMAS MORNING
The Fire Chief reported that on Christmas morning at about 05:06 hrs, the GFS responded to a call where the kitchen area of Chicka D, formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), was ablaze.

He stated that the unit managed to extinguish the fire, which started after an electrical deep-fryer was left on after the restaurant had closed for business. As a result, the entire kitchen area was damaged.
CHRISTMAS NIGHT
Gentle told this newspaper that at 22:15 hrs on Christmas night, a building (dwelling house) was destroyed by fire at 52 Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara, while the occupants were not at home. The house was locked, and so far, a probe by fire officials points at arson as the cause. Two persons were displaced.
BOXING DAY
The Fire Chief said that on Boxing Day at about 11:30 hrs, a house at Middle Street, Buxton, East Coast Demerara, was destroyed by fire, leaving eight persons, including children, homeless.
He noted that the children were playing with matches, which ignited a mattress in a bedroom. The entire house was razed.
DECEMBER 26, 2015
Gentle said the GFS put out a fire which destroyed the entire kitchen area of Subs and Salads restaurant at Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara at about 11:20 hrs. He reported that force was used to gain entry into the secured building after which they discovered that an electrical food processor was left on.
HAAGS BOSCH LANDFILL SITE
Meanwhile, at Haags Bosch landfill site, the fire-and-smoke situation was not an easy one to contain but Gentle said they were working with operators to control the fire which started since last Sunday. He explained that the fire involved toxic/waste materials, which were burning underground and for the GFS to offer more assistance it would need more earth-moving equipment to see what was happening underneath at the dump site at Eccles, East Bank Demerara.

Gentle stated that dumping at the location had been discontinued and as was reported in some sections of the media the GFS was working with other operators but they could not be out there at nights, since they have had bad experiences with the Mandela dumpsite previously and such efforts proved hazardous to firefighters.

He told this publication that so far because of the difficulty of sourcing water from canals, which are far from the landfill site two of their pumps were damaged.