It was an emotional and heart-wrenching three minutes of tears as female Dorm Warden, Carlett Williams, recounted her terrifying experience before the presidential inquiry into the tragedy which claimed 20 lives including her five-year-old son.
Williams, a resident of Micobie (Region Eight) and wife of male Dorm Warden, Steve Jerome, recalled that on May 21 at around 11pm, she was awakened by screams and pounding on the door.
“I heard loud screams and cries for help also pounding on the door so I ran to see what was happening” she told the inquiry.
The dorm mother said that she was terrified when she saw fire coming from the room which housed the girls.
“Many of the girls were running out of the room as fire was moving towards the ceiling into another section, they were all screaming fire, fire, as they ran to another room trying to alert the others.”
At the fifth public hearing, she told the inquiry that she and her husband encountered challenges opening a door which housed other female students. However, with the help of her husband the door was kicked open and the girls escaped en masse.
As this was happening, Williams’ maternal instincts kicked in as she saw no sign of her son, and she started screaming for him. The tearful mother said that she was trying to figure out where her son as the building was burning intensely. Her husband tried re-entering the building to search for the boy, but it was impassable due to the intense fire and smoke.
Although she was relieved to know her daughter was rescued, Williams was still concerned about her son’s well-being.
“All I wanted to how was if he was rescued”.
In between sobs, the mother testified that the next day, while she was at the Georgetown Public Hospital for psychiatric evaluation following the traumatic event, her husband, who helped save several of the female students from the burning building was informed of an aircraft departing Mahdia for the Ogle Airstrip, which he subsequently joined. He met her at the GPH where they were asked to identify their son’s corpse.
Fighting back tears, she said that she, her husband, and a relative, met Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, alongside other members of cabinet where funeral arrangements were discussed.
She confirmed that the government covered all funeral expenses and provided financial assistance in light of the circumstances as her son was laid to rest on May 31.
The media was then asked to be excused from the other part of Williams’ testimony as it was decided it would take place in camera as the information disclosed from her testimony might not be suitable for reporting.
Not fully equipped
Thereafter it was the Chief Fire Officer Gregory Wickham’s turn to take the stand. He began his testimony by acknowledging that on the night of the fire, fire-fighters were not fully equipped with the necessary gear, but in the same breath said that “the team was efficient.”
He told the CoI that the staff at the Mahdia Fire Station which consisted of auxiliary fire-fighters along with senior officials, encountered mechanical defects with the fire truck and lacked fundamental tools like breathing apparatus, and metal cutting equipment. At this disclosure, he was asked how the fire station did not have such basic facilities considering the fact that they (fire-fighters) were on an operation.
Wickham then explain-ed that these tools were not catered for despite his recommendation for budgetary provisions to be made in relation to the
purchase of breathing apparatuses, water bowsers, and other fundamental equipment at the Mahdia Fire Station which up to the time of the fire has not been provided.
He recalled making these recommendations to the deputy and regional executive officers of Potaro Siparuni (Region Eight).
“I am still trying to wrap my mind around a fire station not having breathing apparatus, which is perhaps the most important piece of appliance,” stated CoI Counsel Keoma Griffith.
In response, the Fire Chief noted that this tool was not in the fire station’s storeroom nor was it budgeted for.
This admission prompted Griffith to refer to emails sent to the Fire Chief from Sub-Officer Ryan Scott, an officer, stationed at the Mahdia fire station, which indicated a dire need for requisite fire prevention and safety equipment to make their job effective in event of an emergency.
The Counsel further asked the fire chief why the station from its inception was not fully equipped with gear such as breathing apparatuses, water bowsers, or any other necessary equipment to make their work efficient in the event of a fire, to which Wickham replied that it was not on the community station’s budget.
The Fire Chief told the Inquiry that he did propose to the Regional Executive Officer along with its deputy for budgetary provisions to be made so as acquire the necessary fire-fighting equipment for the Mahdia Fire Station. In addition, the 12-year-old fire truck as outlined in Sub Officer Scott’s after-action report was plagued with mechanical issues, which required urgent rectification.
Wickham told the commission that a maintenance team from the fire service was sent to Mahdia to remedy the situation and much of the truck’s faulty equipment was repaired.
He however fumbled before answering to the counsel’s query as to whether all the truck’s appliances were repaired since suffering several defects on the night of dormitory fire.
The Fire Chief answered in the positive but explained to the commission that although maintenance was done to the truck, mechanical issues are inevitable, since the fire lorry is utilised quite often.
He added that the majority of the deficiencies outlined in Officer Scott’s report were subsequently remedied a few months after the inferno.
Wickham noted that the station is now equipped with cutting tools, sledgehammers, breathing apparatuses and other requisite fire safety equipment.
Water bowsers and fire hydrants however are not at the fire station to which the CoI Chairman retired Major General Joe Singh asked when would it be installed in event of any emergency such as a fire.
Lack of fire hydrants
Asked if there were any recommendations for the fire hydrants to be installed at the female dormitory of the Mahdia Secondary School, Wickham indicated that he did make this known to both the regional and deputy executive officers but there was no feedback in that regard though the community was deemed a high-risk area.
When asked if there was a follow up on the subject, the Fire Chief said no.
Like Sub-Officer Scott, Wickham noted that a stumbling block was the presence of a two-inch main as a four-inch main was needed to facilitate the installation of a fire hydrant.
He pointed out that the issue falls with the jurisdiction of the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and the Regional Democratic Council of Potaro-Siparuni, Region Eight.
According to the fire chief, none of the employees at the school dormitory were trained in fire safety and prevention.
Understaffing at the Mahdia Fire Station
The commission was also baffled by the fact the Mahdia fire station was understaffed since an increased complement of fire-fighters is needed in the event a “major fire”.
The commissioners were also concerned over the use of auxiliary firefighters in fire-fighting operations as the question was how competent they were, to which Wickham said that they effectively assisted senior officials on the night of the fire.
He confirmed that while seven fire-fighters are stationed at the community’s fire station, only three fire-fighters were on duty along with the auxiliary staff on the fire scene.
Asked by the Chairman Singh what would be the contingency plan to support this human resource deficit, Wickham said recruits are currently being trained to supplement the existing capacity.
Meanwhile security officer, Denise Holland, an employee of RK Guard Services who was stationed at the Mahdia Secondary School dorm testified that on May 21, she was frantic when the building was engulfed in flames.
“I was all worried about those children, I got so confused that I ran out and started shouting for help.”
Holland told the inquiry that there were no contact numbers for the Mahdia Fire and Police stations, but luckily, she had stored a contact number for an officer at the police station, whom she contacted. She expected that her call would have prompted the police to arrive immediately but that wasn’t the case.
The security guard who appeared nervous throughout her testimony said she was concerned about the safety of the students.
