THE Guyana Fire Service (GFS) has determined that the July 20 fire that destroyed the St George’s High School was electrical in origin. It was due to a nonfunctioning electrical outlet at the school.
In a statement released on Friday, the GFS noted that it had completed its investigation into the fire.

“Based on our findings, the fire was electrical in nature and stemmed from an inoperable duplex receptacle located in the Social Studies Department on the North Eastern wall of the building.
“Though inoperable, electricity was going to the duplex receptacle and the subsequent overheating of the insulation caused the plastic coating on the wire to melt, resulting in arcing and sparking which ignited nearby combustibles and spread to the entire building,” the GFS reported.

The GFS further called on citizens to ensure electrical appliances, outlets and wiring are of the correct standard as advised by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).
“These items should be examined on a regular basis to ensure they are in proper working order.

Citizens are also advised to equip their homes and businesses with fire extinguishers and smoke detectors for the early detection and extinction of fires,” the statement said.
Some 421 students have been displaced when a fire ravished the St George’s High School on Church Street. The fire was the third such fire at a secondary school in less than two years. The North Ruimveldt Multilateral School, in Georgetown, went up in flames in June 2021, while the Mabaruma Secondary School, in Region One, was also destroyed by a fire in September.

Education Minister, Priya Manickchand had called the fire at St George’s High an extremely big loss.
Measures have since been put in place to relocate the affected students.

As pertains to whether the ministry will be rebuilding the school on location, Manickchand had explained it would depend on several factors, particularly because the land that the school was located on is not owned by the Ministry of Education. The land is owned by the Anglican Church.