The male dormitory and a library of the Bartica Secondary School were destroyed by fire on Saturday night but fortunately no one was injured and the rest of the school was saved through the efforts of residents who formed a bucket brigade.
Because the dormitory, which houses a small library beneath it, was detached from the rest of the school, including a larger dormitory for the girls, the residents were able to contain the fire.
A release from the police said that the fire occurred around 9.30 pm and that the origin of the fire was not known. The boys in the wooden and concrete structure were able to get to safety the release said but this newspaper understands that few of them were able to save any of their possessions.
Yesterday officials from the regional authority had to take most of the boys, who number about 24, to stores in the area to purchase clothing and other items.
Residents of Bartica again bemoaned not having a fire engine in the township and were fulsome in praise for those citizens who bravely fought the fire. They are calling on the relevant authority to keep the promise of establishing a working fire service in the Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) region. In recent years Bartica has been hit by major fires.
And at least two families who left their homes and went out on the streets to enjoy the Bartica Night on Saturday night are ruing their decisions as thieves took the opportunity to “clean out” their homes of a number of household appliances. Stabroek News understands that whenever there is a fete in the township residents suffer from theft as the thieves would monitor the movements of the householders.
