CLASSES should resume for students at the Christ Church Secondary School in Georgetown, on Monday, as an all-clear signal was given by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) following the small fire at the school last week Wednesday.

Acting Fire Chief Gregory Wickham on Sunday told the Guyana Chronicle that all chemicals and debris from the incident have been removed from the building, making it safe for students and teachers to return to their regular class sessions.

“There was a chemical reaction in the chemical room that they had there, so we had to get all the chemicals out and we had to use the smouldering method to stop the reaction, but no damage was done to the structure.” Wickham said.

Last Wednesday, firefighters responded to an alarm that was raised by teachers that heavy smoke was emanating from the lower flat of the building. The first-responders were able to contain the situation, which was caused by the improper storage of chemicals in the school’s laboratory.

The Fire Chief related that while the Fire Service does not often receive reports of chemical reactions, all ranks are trained and well equipped to respond to such situations.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Priya Manickchand, who spoke to reporters at the scene, said that her ministry is in the process of rolling out an initiative to ensure that chemicals that are used as part of the secondary school curriculum, as well as electrical appliances, are properly stored.

“We are in that process [of] looking at all high schools and how we can make sure we dispose safely of chemicals that may have expired and I’m not suggesting that is what happened here, I’m just saying that is one of the processes we are engaged in currently and also looking at electrical and so on,” she said.