A FIRE at the Vreed-en-Hoop stelling, West Coast Demerara (WCD), in the early morning hours of Tuesday, involving 19 vessels used for transportation, left 13 of them destroyed and six damaged.

Reports indicate that the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) received a call at 01:49 am, informing them of a fire at the West Coast stelling.
Water tender #111 and crew from the La Grange Fire Station, along with fire boat protector #8 and crew, were immediately dispatched to the scene. When firefighters arrived, several boats were discovered on fire with 19 vessels involved.
According to the police, inquiries revealed that the fire started from the rear end of a vessel that was docked on the southern side of the Vreed-en-Hoop stelling, which quickly erupted and spread to other nearby vessels on the southern side of the river, destroying those vessels.

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Several persons were questioned, including a watchman for the vessel where the fire started. He was later placed into custody at the Vreed-En-Hoop Police Outpost and is assisting with the investigation.

The purported cause of the fire is undetermined at this time and requires further investigation by Fire Prevention officers.
Three jets working from water tender #111 via an open water source in conjunction with three jets working from fire boat protector #8 were used to extinguish the fire.