WHILE many were drinking and having a merry time, some members of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) were not that fortunate, as they were kept on their toes during the Christmas weekend.
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle told the Guyana Chronicle that there were a few incidents which put the Fire Service in high gear. Six major fires were recorded during the holiday season, and several buildings were destroyed, leaving 13 persons homeless. He is, accordingly, admonishing the nation that children should not be left unsupervised; kitchen appliances, including electrical ones, should be turned off before householders retire to bed; eating houses and private homes should dispose of garbage in a proper manner; and everyone should desist from burning garbage.
Gentle said that, at about 03:35 hrs on Christmas Eve Day, a fire consumed two shacks aback of the Botanical Gardens, leaving three persons homeless. The cause of this conflagration is still being investigated.
The Fire Chief reported that, at about 05:06 hrs on Christmas morning, the GFS responded to a fire call wherein the kitchen area of Chicka D, formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), was ablaze. The unit managed to extinguish the fire, which was 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 by fire.
Gentle said that, at 22:15 hrs on Christmas night, a dwelling house was destroyed by fire at Lot 52 Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara while the occupants were not at home. The edifice had, however, been secured, and, so far, a probe by fire officials points to arson as the cause of that fire. That fire has displaced two persons.
The Fire Chief related 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 children were playing with matches, and that had ignited a mattress in a bedroom; and the resulting fire ripped through the entire edifice.
Gentle said the GFS had also 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 on Boxing Day. He reported that GFS members had to force their entry into the secured building, after which they discovered that an electrical food processor had been left on when the place was closed for business.
HAAGS BOSCH
Gentle described the fire at the Haags Bosch landfill site aback Eccles, East Bank Demerara as not an easy one to contain, but he said the GFS was working with the operators of the site to control the fire, which has been burning since last Sunday.
He explained that toxic/waste materials are burning underground, and for the GFS to be more effective in combating that blaze, earth-moving equipment have to turn up the materials at the landfill to enable firemen to see what is happening underneath the dump.
Gentle said dumping at that landfill has ceased, and, as was reported in some sections of the media, the GFS is working with the operators of the site to extinguish the fire; but they cannot be out there at nights, since, from previous experience with the Mandela dumpsite, it is quite hazardous to firefighters.
Because it is difficult to source water from canals, which are far from the landfill site, Gentle explained, two GFS pumps have been damaged.
