Sub-officer of the Guyana Fire Service Chriswayne LaRose yesterday described the fear he experienced upon witnessing inmates break out from their cell block to go to the aid of those trapped in the burning Capital A Division of the Camp Street Prison.
His testimony before the Commission of Inquiry into the fatal prison fire brought life to the security risks and the associated fears that may accompany fighting fires in a prison environment, as were mentioned on Monday by the Officer-in-Charge of Operations of the Guyana Fire Service Compton Sparman.
As the fire raged on March 3, the prisoners had broken a hole in the wooden exterior of their dorm and climbed through, thereafter accessing the catwalk to the Capital A division, which is located just adjacent to the Old Capital block from which they escaped.
LaRose explained that even when it became evident that those who broke out from the dorm did not appear to have ill intentions, his fear was not abated. The fact was that a hole had been made and scores of prisoners still remained in the block. The inmates continued to act riotously, hurling threats and insults at the officers.
Coupled with this, the firemen had already been subjected to physical and verbal abuse at the hands of the prisoners just the night before as they had attempted to put out a number of fires set by the inmates of the Capital A division, who were in protest for speedier trials.
Sparman testified Monday that the prisoners had pelted the firemen with bricks, threatened their life and safety, and shouted to them to keep out of the matter as it was not their concern.
“I’ve been into prison compounds before, and even though they are within the cells, I consider the prison walls to be the security, honestly, because of the fact that you have several cell blocks which are wooden,” LaRose commented. He stated that his fear was concretised by the fact that he witnessed the inmates kick out the wall to their cell block, an indication to him that they could break out at any time.
When they began to exit, the firefighters that had been positioned on the landing (making attempts to cool the building through the window openings as there was no access to the interior) were given orders by the Deputy Chief Officer to retreat for their safety. There was no time to remove the equipment, including the firehose, from which water still poured. LaRose had been standing some distance away in the compound while he observed these events, but recalled that the two or three prison staff that had been standing on the catwalk had stepped back when the prisoners approached, a sign he took to mean that they had been given some amount of leeway to proceed. He noted that it was not until he saw members of the Guyana Police Force position themselves strategically in the compound that he felt a little safer. He estimated that about 20-30 prison officers had been in the yard at the time, standing guard.
LaRose recalled next seeing a prison official open the door to the division using a key, after much difficulty. Attempts had been made to open the door by key earlier, as well as to cut it open, both of which failed. LaRose noted that these prior attempts were observed just after their arrival, before firemen had begun fighting the fire.
“The challenge was persons inside the building, and our foremost responsibility as firefighters is to save lives, so as I indicated, in a normal situation, we would have put all our skills and all our efforts in place to ensure that we rescue persons…our next priority was using water, instead of going to the rescue,” stated Sparman.
When Sparman, who appeared before the tribunal again yesterday, was asked by Commission Counsel Excellence Dazzell why the firemen had not tried to gain access to the Capital A dorm through Capital B, he stated that the information that he received at the time was that access could not be made from that point. It was not until after the fire was extinguished that he learnt of the hole in the wall separating the two divisions.
LaRose, along with Sparman, had arrived on the scene at 11.30, according to LaRose’s recollection, which is just five minutes after the time Sparman testified that the call was received. They testified that water lines had already been set up when they arrived but firemen had not yet received the go-ahead from prison officials to proceed. Neither could recall the exact time firefighting actually began.
The testimonies of Fire Chief Marlon Gentle and a first strike officer are scheduled to be heard today. A submission was also made by attorney Eusi Anderson to have the Fire Service investigator in the matter called today as well, but a ruling has not yet been made in that regard.
