says systems in place to tackle grass fires

IN order to effectively combat the escalating occurrences of wildfires, which are commonly referred to as grass fires locally, the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) has joined forces with other agencies to establish a well-structured strategy.

During a media interaction on Thursday, Chief Fire Officer (ag) Gregory Wickham affirmed the occurrence of an escalation in these fire occurrences.
“We would have seen a great increase in the number of grass fires or what we call wildfires, and so it has its impacts, but the fire department along with other agencies, we have a plan in place to deal with these occurrences,” the fire chief told reporters.

He further advised against leaving grass or garbage fires unattended, as they can quickly escalate. He said the possibility of them spreading is much higher during the dry season.
“If you’re going to use fire as a means to get rid of waste, then you must be able to supervise it. For those in the backlands and interior locations, where you have those fires, you must be able to do what we call trenching to stop fire-spread,” Wickham pleaded.

Speaking on the challenges firefighters face, Wickham relayed that in some instances accessibility poses a challenge when battling grass fires.
“The areas where some of these fires are, they are way out where our fire tenders can reach and so firefighters will have to do what we call ‘foot it’ to get to these scenes. However, we have been doing so.”

The fire chief is also urging members of the public to ensure sources of water are maintained and preserved, so it can be useful in the event of a fire.
It is highly recommended that citizens actively engage in fire-safety measures, as it is a collective responsibility. In the event of encountering suspicious fire or smoke, it is imperative to promptly dial 912.