A member of the Goed Intent Masjid which went up in flames on Tuesday has estimated their losses at about $20 million and bemoaned that the second flat of the building could have been saved had the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) been better prepared.
Imraz Hassan, a member of the masjid said that fire was seen coming from the building minutes after 8 am on Tuesday. While the Public Relations Officer of the GFS, Silyne Griffith said that it is suspected that the fire may have started from a faulty electric fan that was plugged in, Hassan countered that as far as he knows, it was the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) connections to the third floor of the mosque that started sparking and subsequently resulted in the fire.
While the top and second flats of the mosque went up in flames, the GFS was able to prevent the fire from spreading to the bottom flat. However, the owner said he believed that the fire could have been better contained.
He pointed out that the fire trucks took a while to get to the scene but Griffith said that three fire tenders were deployed to the scene of the fire from their respective stations at La Grange, West Ruimveldt, and Leonora. Hassan noted that when the first fire tender arrived, they hadn’t enough water so they went to the nearby Demerara River for water. The man recalls the fire attendants trying to get their four-inch water pump working but it would not start; in fact the pump never started. As such he had them use his two-inch water pump which pumped half the amount of water that the fire service’s pump would have used had theirs been working. A second call was placed to the Leonora Fire Station and two fire tenders arrived more than an hour later according to Hassan.
“The next issue is that these fire attendants fully [covered with protective gear] and they frighten to hold the hose on the building. We the civilians end up had to hold the hose and soak the building,” said the owner. Hassan said had the pump been working or had the fire attendants arrived with more water in the truck’s tank, he is certain the second floor could have been also saved. The fire tenders left the scene at about 6 pm on Tuesday.
The man pointed out that six months have not passed since the third floor of the mosque was completed. The second and third floors are used as an Islamic school while the entire building is used for religious functions.
He shared that plans are already in place for the rebuilding of the mosque but he is currently awaiting further instructions from the GFS as investigations into the fire are still ongoing. The current masjid structure according to Hassan, was constructed three years ago in place of an older building that was demolished. The previous building he pointed out was around for more than a hundred years.
Since the fire hasn’t affected the bottom flat of the mosque, Hassan said they will have regular Jummah service prayer time on Friday and as according to designated prayer time hours every day.
Minister within Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, Regional Executive Officer Jagnarine Somwar, and Regional Chairman Inshan Ayube were said to have visited the scene of the fire.
