A catastrophe was averted at Bartica yesterday morning when fire broke out at the Guyana Power and Light’s engine room at First
Avenue in the mining town.
But thanks to the efficiency of the Fire Department in the community, the conflagration was contained and quickly
extinguished. But the town was plunged into darkness and last evening, still with no power, residents and businessmen with Christmas
perishables in stock were pondering their next move.
This development has come after several days of extended black-outs affecting the Bartica community.
Fire officials at Bartica told the Guyana Chronicle that the department received a call around 04:40hrs, alerting them to a
fire which had broken out at the GPL engine room. On arriving at the scene, they discovered that the source of the fire was the
Potaro circuit breaker of the domestic panel, which was well alight. With the cooperation of GPL employees on the scene, the fire
fighters were able to bring the situation under control. There were no serious casualties, but this newspaper has confirmed that
three GPL employees were rushed to the Bartica Hospital for smoke inhalation and were treated and sent home.
But even as residents and business persons scampered to find temporary relief for the woes associated with being without
power, the regional power facility was in contact with headquarters in Georgetown as they sought to deploy manpower and resources
to address the problems.
Officials at Bartica were only able to say that they were working to restore power ‘soonest’.
GPL has apologised to residents of Bartica for the inconvenience caused and for their patience during this time of
crisis.
Just last August, a new $17M fire station was commissioned at Bartica by Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee.