Three loud explosions were heard moments before the North West Secondary School building, Mabaruma, Region One, went up in flames, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) says.
The fire started around 10 pm on Friday. In a statement, the police said it is not known what caused the fire in the two-storey building constructed of wood and concrete and having a zinc roof measuring about 200 feet by 150 feet. According to enquiries, Mark Knights, a security guard of Mabaruma was on duty at the front gate in his guard hut when the building became engulfed following the explosions.
Knights reported that he was on his cellular phone when he heard three loud explosions coming from a room located on the second floor on the eastern side of the building and upon checking he saw the room engulfed in flames. The man made a report to the Mabaruma Police Station. The Joint Services assisted the firemen in their efforts to extinguish the flames, however, most of the building was damaged. The police are still investigating the cause of the fire.
Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley, told this newspaper that volunteer firemen were on the scene in an attempt to save neighbouring structures. He explained that the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) is currently being established in the region and that while ten persons have been trained, the region is expected to receive equipment in October. However, he said that there are auxiliary firemen and two of the trained fire officers had recently returned and they helped with extinguishing the flames.
Ashely also informed that the Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn visited the region yesterday along with a team of investigators from the GFS and the GPF, and he accompanied them on an inspection of the remains of the building. During the walk through, it was noted that the auditorium was destroyed, along with classrooms and the secretary’s office which were in the area where the fire was. He said that the building was gutted with the roof being partially damaged, mostly in the middle section. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has sent a team to the site to determine what steps will be taken to ensure the students are not further disadvantaged by the fire. Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand told this newspaper that either today or tomorrow, the team will be at the school but that she has been informed that the building has been destroyed. Manickchand said that the fire did not spread to the dormitory but her ministry will now have to figure out how to engage the students who were expected to return to school. According to the minister, North West Secondary, which has 551 students and 40 teachers, was supposed to be reopened as the inoculation of its students continues. She said that students were being vaccinated on Friday at the different sites in Region One. Manickchand noted that the turnout in the region has been good and therefore the school was going to be among the others which would be reopened for face-to-face learning. Once the team has assessed the school and reported to her, the ministry will then decide on the way forward
Ashley told this newspaper that concerning the continued learning for the students, it has been recommended that they use the North West Primary School, the Roman Catholic Church parish hall and other halls in the region as well as other facilities while the building is reconstructed.
The minister said that at this point she cannot say whether arson is suspected but that nothing has been ruled out as the cause. Manickchand was told that the school’s Information Technology lab was annexed to the building that was burnt. Works were being done on the IT lab and the computers are safe, however, a Promethean smart board was moved to the Headmistress’ office to accommodate the works. That office along with three 65-inch smart TVs were destroyed.
A Caribbean Development Bank project was also ongoing. The minister noted that her Ministry is yet to confirm whether the equipment was taken out from there. It was reported that the Home Economics lab, housed in the downstairs of the annex was untouched. The police statement said that the school’s auditorium, six classrooms and the Home Economics department, which contained an undisclosed amount of equipment and supplies, such as desks, benches, chalkboards, computer and lab equipment, kitchen utensils, etc, were destroyed.
