EVEN as the probe continues into the cause of Saturday’s fire that completely destroyed the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, several ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) are currently being questioned.

This is according to Fire Chief Kalamadeen Edoo, who told the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday that the ranks reside in the police barracks situated close to the fire scene.
He said that while the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, all of the ranks who reside in the barracks are being questioned, since the fire started in the western side of that building.

“We’re just questioning police ranks who were around and who were occupying those quarters, and we’re questioning them because so far we know it’s upstairs the fire started,” said Edoo.
The fire is the second major disaster for the force as a few weeks ago, 80 per cent of the Brickdam Police Station was destroyed following an act of arson.

Quick action by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) on Saturday saved the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Although ranks were able to save important documents from the DPP’s Chambers, Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, noted that the entire operation there will remain in complete disarray for the next few weeks.

In a bid to save files from the massive blaze, staff of the DPP Chambers, as well as ranks of the GPF and firefighters, removed drawers from file cabinets and piled them into police vehicles. The files were then transported to a secure location.

Documents were also thrown through windows from the top floor of the building in an effort to save them from the fire which was inching closer to that section.
Minister Benn noted that the operations of the DPP’s office have been halted as a result of the fire.

“It puts the operations of the OPR in disarray. The operations of the DPP Chambers are also in disarray and [in] some confusion. The files and documents would have to be taken to somewhere, where they would have to be [sorted] and put in a condition where they could be accessed properly.”

Benn further added: “Basically, the operations remaining to this building are completely perturbated and [there will be] confusion from now on. They’ll have to spend the next week or two putting files and things properly together and to get the computer systems and so back online, to be able to access files which are online.”