Police in Wismar, Linden and the Guyana Fire Service are probing the circumstances behind a mysterious fire early yesterday morning at the Wismar Post Office, where it is suspected that an attempt was made to torch a safe during a break-in.
The fire was quickly put out after a swift response by the Linden Fire Station, which saved the building from suffering major damage.
Commander of ‘E’ Division Superintendent of Police Anthony Vanderhyden yesterday told Stabroek News that police at the Wismar Police Station were alerted to the fire around 4.08 am yesterday.
He noted that his investigators had not established what was the cause of the fire but noted that they were working along with investigators from the fire service. However, a police source told this publication that investigators found evidence of a break and enter and an attempt to torch a safe in the building.
Vanderhyden explained that the interior of the lower flat was scorched but nothing was stolen.
According to the police source, after ranks from the Wismar Police Station were alerted, they summoned the fire service.
The firefighters who responded noticed smoke emanating from the bottom flat of the building and sprang into action.
Stabroek News was told that firefighters had to break the main door to gain entry into the building to fight the fire.
After the fire was extinguished, fire investigators observed that a window and grill had been ripped out. They also found that a metal safe, which was attached to the northern wall, had been ripped out and was resting in front of the broken window and grillwork inside the building. The police source pointed out that the top surface area of the safe was torched but not opened.
Further investigations revealed that the entire lower flat of the building had been ransacked but nothing was reported missing from the post office.
An internal audit is currently underway as staff are working to verify that all valuables and documents are accounted for.
