By Antonio Dey
The caretaker of the neighbouring boys’ residence yesterday detailed how he helped to rescue girls from the burning Mahdia dormitory – including his daughter – after kicking down a door.
Steve Jerome, father of the 5-year-old boy who died in the fire, was the first to testify under questioning by attorney-at-law Keoma Griffith who has been appointed to lead evidence in the inquiry.
The much-anticipated public hearing of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Mahdia dormitory fire which claimed the lives of 20 children commenced yesterday at the commission’s Middle Street, Georgetown, secretariat.
Jerome, who is from Micobie, Region Eight, and served as warden for the male dormitory, recounted that around 11pm on May 20, the night of the tragic fire, he heard distinct noises coming from the female dormitory, but did not treat it seriously since many of the girls had had nightmares in the past and this would lead to some commotion.
However, a few minutes later, he heard distinct screams and trampling coming from the female dorm. He ran towards the door to investigate and discovered flames coming from underneath the door.
Stunned by what he observed, Jerome grabbed a fire extinguisher from his room and moved quickly towards the direction of the female dormitory where his wife was in charge but the door was locked.
He immediately made contact with his wife who told him that she could not get the door open even though she had the key.
They eventually forced the door open, but according to Jerome, he was unable to see if anyone was in the room due to the thickness of the smoke. By this time, he said, the fire extinguisher was of no use to him.
Upon realising the situation, he ran out of the building and began calling out the names of the girls. He kept this up until a few of them came at the sound of his voice.
At that time approximately 10-15 girls escaped the dormitory with the aid of villagers.
Trampling
Jerome told the inquiry that he became worried as he was aware that the female dormitory housed 61 girls and only 10 to 15 were able to escape at the time. He called for the keys for another door from the dorm supervisor who threw them towards him. However, his efforts were futile so instead he kicked down the door and fell after which several girls hurriedly escaped while trampling him.
The racket eventually awoke the boys housed in the male dorm who began shouting out the names of other fire victims who were presumably trapped.
Jerome told the Commission that he was lying flat on his stomach while trying to retrieve the bodies of two girls from another building which was filled with smoke. “When I turned over on my back, I saw a girl praying seeking God’s guidance to take her out of building, so I pushed her out the building, after I sprayed the fire extinguisher and realized it was useless”, he testified.
The visibly emotional man said his heart froze as he distinctly heard his daughter’s repeated cry for help.
“I heard my daughter calling for daddy, she was calling out of the room and I pulled her by the hand and I came out with her”, he said.
His jubilation was short-lived as he realised that his son was nowhere to be found. The man immediately went in search of his son, incessantly shouting his name, but there was no answer. He ran to the room where the female dorm warden was assuming his son would be there and discovered a girl crying out for help. Although the window was broken, it was inaccessible due to installed grillwork.
Jerome however assured the little girl that help was on the way while still trying to figure out where his son could be.
“At that time, I couldn’t recall seeing a fire brigade or anyone from the fire service, luckily males from the neighbourhood came with a large plank and broke the grill and starting pulling out …a few girls who were conscious and unconscious.
“One girl was naked so I remembered retrieving my jersey to cover her body and eventually took her to the dining hall.”
He averaged that the fire service responded some 15 minutes after the inferno.
According to Jerome, no one from the Guyana Police Force nor the Guyana Fire Service at the time of the inferno, spoke with him to ascertain what transpired until the death of his son.
“I was just there in the dining hall, two boys came and asked for their sister and I told them that she came out safely. At that time there was a vehicle and an ambulance which started transporting the girls to the hospital.
“I noticed a few firefighters around the building, until one of the family members came and held on to me and asked me not to leave; at that point I knew something was wrong”, he said. The father tearfully told the CoI that after being told by Deputy Regional Executive Officer of Mahdia, Shaun Britton, to escort him into a police vehicle, it was at this point, he knew his son was dead.
On May 26, Jerome received a call requesting him to travel out of Mahdia, but he insisted on seeing his son’s body.
“At that point I guess they don’t want me to know that I am going out with my son’s deceased body, however I was with my dad and we decided to board the aircraft that was carrying my son’s body.”
He informed that the aircraft then departed Mahdia for the Ogle Airstrip.
Following his arrival in Georgetown, he recounted meeting with Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, alongside other members of cabinet where they discussed funeral arrangements.
Jerome confirmed that the government covered all funeral expenses and provided financial assistance in light of the circumstances.
His son was laid to rest on May 31.
According to the witness, no inspection of the Mahdia dormitory building was done by the Ministry of Education, the Guyana Fire Service, or the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, from the time he was contracted as dorm warden in 2018 up to the date of the inferno.
He did however mention that the Regional Democratic Council (Potaro-Siparuni), had conducted a few inspections for renovation purposes.
Chairman of the CoI, Major General (retired) Joseph Singh asked about Jerome’s knowledge and expertise in relation to fire precautions and asked if this was part of the terms and conditions of his contract, to which he responded in the negative.
Counsel Griffith asked if the witness and his wife (the female dorm warden) were trained to carry out fire drills to which he responded in the negative, but said that he and his wife learnt it on their own and demonstrated it to students of the Mahdia Secondary School.
Captain Mohamed Yacoob Mazarally, a pilot attached to Air Services Limited also testified yesterday.
President Irfaan Ali on August 10 appointed Major General (retired) Singh, CoI chairman and attorney at law Dr Kim Kyte-Thomas and National Toshaos Commission Chairman Derrick John as members of the Commission of Inquiry.
According to the ToR, the Commission will render its report, findings and recommendations to the President in writing within two months or within such other time as may be directed by the President, and conduct the inquiry continually at Georgetown and Mahdia or in any such other places as determined by the Commission.
Public hearings into the inquiry are expected to continue on Monday September 18.
A total of 15 witnesses, including ministers, survivors, and first responders, are expected to provide testimony during the inquiry.
Chairman of the CoI, Singh has assured of the commission’s intention to conduct the inquiry with transparency, efficiency, and sensitivity as outlined in the Terms of Reference (ToR). He added that all hearings involving minors and relatives of the deceased and injured will be conducted in-camera.
“I wish to assure that the Commission will work diligently, transparently, and with sensitivity in order to accomplish the task as prescribed in the Terms of Reference.
He also explained the CoI is grounded and guided by provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act of 2018, in relation to best practices and international standards by ensuring the interests of all minors involved are safeguarded.
As such, Singh called on all members of the media to report responsibly in relation to the names and other sensitive information regarding the deceased and survivors of the tragedy.
Secretary to the Commission, Javed Shadick announced yesterday that live streaming of the hearings would not occur out of caution and to protect the witnesses.
