By Francis Quamina Farrier

GUYANESE both at home and abroad, are outraged at the circumstances which led up to the alleged arson destruction of the Brickdam Police Station on Saturday, October 2, 2021. Official reports state that the alleged self-confessed suspect, Clarence Greene, “was arrested early Saturday morning [October 2, 2021], for armed robbery, but after several hours in the lockups, he became frustrated and started the fire, which destroyed over 80 percent of the Brickdam Police Station.” Was this alleged suspect body- searched by the police before he was placed in the lockups, bearing in mind that he was arrested for the serious crime of armed robbery? People need to know.

The police report states that Clarence Greene allegedly started the fire using a cigarette lighter. How was that detained person who was charged for armed robbery allegedly allowed to have a cigarette lighter in his possession when placed in the aged wooden police station cell? The police report further states that “Greene tore a piece of mattress from the cell, hooked it on a piece of wire, lit it with the cigarette lighter which started the fire.” Now, were there any fire extinguishers within the police station? If not, why not? After all, the building is wooden. The police report further states that after the fire started, “Greene and other prisoners were relocated to the Sparendaam Police Station,” which is about six miles away on the lower East Coast of Demerara. So, the alleged perpetrator of the biggest fire on a police station in the history of Guyana was immediately taken away to safety, while property owners nearby, including parliamentarian Cathy Hughes, were seen scrambling to save valuable items and documents from her office and that of her husband attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes, which is nearby.

Outraged Guyanese want to know what are the fire-fighting capabilities not only at the Brickdam Police Station, but also at Police Headquarters, and in fact at all police stations and police outposts in the 10 regions of the country. Citizens also need to be enlightened whether there are regular fire drills not only at police stations, but also at other institutions such as private and public hospitals, schools and other government departments. Guyana is a country with a high percentage of many quite beautiful wooden buildings and there ought to be a strong culture of fire prevention. Fire drills at least twice a year would keep those who work at private or public facilities and enterprises in shape for any eventuality. It is expected that the private sector should also have useful fire-fighting equipment which can be deployed as the first means of quelling a small fire before it becomes a raging conflagration, unmanageable even after the arrival of the professional fire service officers and fire tenders.

It could be recalled a few years ago, that a fire was stopped early at BANKS DIH Limited’s Thirst Park facilities because the fire-fighting equipment and capabilities of the staffers of the company to deal with such an eventuality were already in place. More private companies need to follow the example of BANKS DIH and have fire equipment and fire drills for their staffers. The drill should decide where staffers would safely congregate should a fire occur. Who would marshal the staffers, who would try without putting their lives in jeopardy, to do what it takes to safely get precious documents away from the location and exactly where to take them in the situation. Staffers should be trained to keep cool heads and be focused on safely saving as much valuable property and documents as soon as possible after the alarm would have been raised.

Georgetown has lost many of its prized wooden buildings to fire. The Park Hotel, as well as the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, are both on Main Street. Then there was a large section of the southern block of the Georgetown Public Hospital being among them. Most of the buildings have been rebuilt — mainly in concrete. But others such as the Park hotel on Main street have not been rebuilt as yet.

During these early days after the loss of the Brickdam Police station, citizens have been expressing their views about the capability of the Guyana Fire Service as a competent fire-fighting force – also, the problems it faces, such as the lack of a very high percentage of working fire hydrants in the city.

Looking to its future, many have been expressing their thoughts as to why almost 80 percent of the building was lost to the fire, even though its location is just two blocks away from the Central Fire Station. Many citizens have already expressed their thoughts about this most recent fire in Georgetown. They saw on TV and online the progress in real time; many of them have asked a cross-section of the populace for their recommendations in terms of what and how the building should be.

Sharon Khan and Rawle Hampstead made similar suggestions, stating that it should be a multi-storey structure taking up almost the entire block with entrances all around. Sharon went on, the recommendation that the new building should be constructed with clay bricks, which Clara Mittelholzer of New Amsterdam supports. That reflects the comment by Moneer Khan, who stated that “Wooden and two-storey buildings are now things of the past.” Veteran Design artist Bernard Ramsay is totally against a new wooden Brickdam Police station. “Definitely not wooden,” he stated. “Georgetown is already at great risk with so many wooden buildings. It will also put too many demands on an already under-equipped and under-trained fire service.” Peter Willeflashman said, “The new Brickdam Police Station must be of concrete or clay brick, or a mixture of both. Strong and as fireproof as possible.”