The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has rehabilitated over 300 fire hydrants in Georgetown.
GINA said this was revealed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GWI, Dr. Richard Van West-Charles at the opening of a training workshop yesterday for the company’s managers.
For years fire hydrants had been in a state of disrepair, limiting the ability of the fire service to access water to combat blazes.
The CEO said there are approximately 800 hydrants in the city and, “we’re gradually discovering where they are so there’s a process of rehabilitation”.
The CEO said that those efforts will extend across Guyana to allow the fire service to access water from new and refurbished fire hydrants.
“We have to work too with the Ministry of Communities’ housing department to ensure that as new communities emerge; part of that planning process is to ensure that hydrants are in the system, and that water is available in case of fire to protect the residents within the communities,” the CEO said.
The GWI Head is urging residents to be responsible and to safeguard the fire hydrants in their communities against vandalism, GINA reported.
He said that often many of the fire hydrants in communities are destroyed by vagrants.
Meanwhile, Regional Manager, Georgetown, Curtis Niles said that GWI is moving to rehabilitate fire hydrants in other areas outside of central Georgetown, including in Turkeyen and South Georgetown.
Niles said that GWI has placed fire hydrants at Agricola and in front of all GWI production centres, “so that the fire service would have easy access in the event that there is a fire in those areas.”
Niles added that GWI is also working on a geographic information system (GIS) to track and identify the location of fire hydrants. “We want to have those hydrants on the GIS so that the fire service would know and more of our population in Georgetown would know where our hydrants are, and we’re also working with the fire service, the government and other agencies, towards having critical areas equipped with fire hydrants,” Niles stated.
