Quick action by two security guards at the Enterprise Primary School on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) yesterday morning saved the building from being burnt by arsonists.
According to the police, investigations are being conducted into a fire which occurred at about 4 am which damaged the Enterprise Primary School. The school is located along Lincoln Street at Enterprise, close to the market in the area.
The police stated that the fire was observed by security guards on duty at the school. According to the police, two plastic containers with a quantity of suspected diesel were found in the building.
Persons at in the scene told this newspaper yesterday that the community was awakened by shouts of fire early yesterday morning. A resident who lives close to the school stated that he was asleep yesterday when he heard persons on the road calling for help and shouting that the school was on fire. He said that when he arrived at the scene a bucket brigade had been mobilized.
One of the two security guards who worked during the night when the incident occurred told Stabroek News at his home that he was at the front of the building when he heard a “strange sound” emanating from the school. He said he took it for nothing but made a check and to him everything seemed ok. That was around 3 am yesterday.
The man stated that shortly after 4:30 he heard another sound and when he pushed the door leading to the entrance of the building, he observed the door that led to a store room on fire. He said the fire was spreading to the upper flat of the school and according to him he immediately grabbed a bucket which was in the school yard and dashed to a stand-pipe.
The shaken man recounted that his colleague simultaneously ran for help and according to him, he frantically threw water on the flames which he noted were distinctly blue. The man noted that by the time residents converged on the scene the fire was put out but he said that subsequent checks around the school revealed that a few other areas were doused with what appeared to be diesel and kerosene.
He said that the police were subsequently called in and he and his colleague were arrested by the lawmen. He said the police took them to the Vigilance Police station and grilled them extensively but the duo maintained that they had nothing to do with the fire. The man stated that he operated the school’s canteen and as recently as Saturday he stocked up on items for the new school term.
The men work for the RK Security Service which is contracted to provide security to the school. The men’s supervisor told Stabroek News that he facilitated their release after he informed the police that the men had, “no reason for burning the school”.
The security guard recounted that he and his colleague made their usual checks earlier in the night around the school compound. He posited that the perpetrators may have gained access via the back of the building since he noted that the area is usually dark. He stated too that the community had experienced a power outage for several hours, including at the time of the fire. He added that two seven-pint containers, one of which contained fuel, were found next to the canteen. The Enterprise Nursery School and a community high school are also located in the building.
Stabroek News observed several spots of a liquid which gave off a pungent scent at more than six areas around the primary school, including the corridors, the store room where the fire was set as well as along the steps leading to the upper flat of the building. Chick-peas (channa) soaked in fuel also lay on the floor close to the Grade Six and Seven classrooms outside the principal’s office on the top floor of the building.
Residents told Stabroek News that they could not recall any such incidents at the school in recent times while some persons stated that the attack on the school appeared well-planned. It was noted too that close to 1000 students from several nearby villages attend the school and as such several parents expressed concern about the intentions of the perpetrators.
Officials from the Guyana Fire Service were expected to visit the school yesterday as investigations into the fire continue.
