‘Do not set indiscriminate fires’- Fire Chief
Chief Fire Officer, Marlon Gentle.
Chief Fire Officer, Marlon Gentle.

THE Guyana Fire Service (GFS) has issued a call to citizens to desist from setting fires in a bid to clear their lands. Fire Chief, Marlon Gentle in an interview with the Department of Public Information, Government Information Agency (DPI/GINA) said the dry season is fast approaching and such practices can prove dangerous.
“We have these fires spreading from these areas and damaging utility poles, damaging culverts, damaging bridges, damaging fences, even damaging buildings. Just last week we had an incident where someone after weeding and cleaning a compound, set fire to the grass …and the fire spread back to the building and the building was destroyed,” he said.
The Fire Chief noted that such fires are being set on the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara and emphasised that persons must understand that when such fires are set indiscriminately and without concern for others, there are long-lasting effects.
Gentle said too, that while some of the fires may not lead to the destruction of buildings, there are environmental effects and pointed to smoke entering homes and posing threat to life, especially for those who have breathing conditions.
“The actions you take sometimes put a whole community at risk, whether health wise or whether direct damages from fires, so we are appealing and we are asking persons, if you have to dispose of garbage, do it in the acceptable way. If you have to clear your lands, do your land clearing and desist from using fires especially in those built-up areas,” he added.
Remarking that so far, there has been a decrease in the number of calls received by the Fire Service to respond to fires, the Fire Chief pointed out that January 1 to September 12, 2017, the Service has received 1,011 reports when compared to 1499 for the same period in 2016.
Notwithstanding, there has been a six per cent increase in the number of buildings destroyed by fires, as according to the records, from January 1 to September 12, 2017, a total of 65 buildings were destroyed by fires as compared to 59 for the same period in 2016. But despite the challenges, Gentle said the GFS has been able to reduce their response time to 12 minutes within a five-mile radius. (DPI/GINA)

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