INVESTIGATORS of the Guyana Fire Service are probing two possible theories into the cause of the fire that destroyed the main section of the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School on Saturday, Deputy Fire Chief, Gregory Wickham, told this newspaper on Sunday.
Investigators were reportedly at the scene all day Sunday into the evening to ascertain the cause of the mysterious fire that destroyed the school’s First to Fifth-Form classrooms, Science, Home-Economics and Information Technology laboratories, as well as the school’s $3 million ‘smart’ classroom – the first to be launched in Guyana in 2015.
The Deputy Fire Chief, however, did not want to reveal to this newspaper the two theories being examined, noting that it will only be prudent to do so once the investigations are complete and there is a definitive finding.

Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, who was on the scene on Saturday, commended the efforts of the firefighters in attempting to save the building, and preventing the fire from spreading, however, he noted that much more could have been done.
Minister Benn, during a telephone interview on Sunday, noted that the ground conditions made it difficult for the firefighters to move around the building with the equipment needed to extinguish and control the fire. He explained that due to the recent heavy downpours, some sections of the school’s compound were flooded while other earthen sections were extremely soft, making it difficult for the fire service ranks to manoeuvre with their equipment.
“Around the building, the ground was very soft, so access close up to the building was an issue and there weren’t enough ways we could have gotten safely to the building with equipment.
“We tried bringing in equipment but you could not get close enough to it because of the ground,” Minister Benn told this newspaper.
Meanwhile, the Home Affairs Minister, in observing some of the faulty equipment at the scene, stated that an assessment of the GFS assets is currently ongoing to fully understand the extent of their needs.

Needs of CXC students
With the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations just eight days away, the Ministry of Education is taking significant steps to ensure that the school’s 65 students slated to sit the examinations are accommodated comfortably.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, on Sunday, noted on her Facebook page that a meeting will be held on Monday with parents and students of the school’s 2021 CXC class to discuss the way forward. This meeting will be held at the at the East Ruimveldt Secondary School at 10:00hrs.
“[I] just concluded a meeting with officers of the Ministry of Education and the HM, DHM and teachers of the North Ruimveldt Multilateral school which was destroyed by fire yesterday. Tomorrow, at 10am, we shall meet at the East Ruimveldt Secondary School with parents and students of the current CSEC class (fifth form/grade 11) to hear their views about which location would be best for them to physically sit their exams and, by tomorrow midday, a decision will be made,” the Facebook post read.
She further stated that students scheduled to begin their oral exams on Monday will be informed that those exams are postponed to a later date.