Fire inspectors checking schools, dorms countrywide
-started one month before Mahdia tragedy
Inspectors from the Guyana Fire Service are conducting fire prevention and preparedness assessments at schools and dormitories countrywide which actually began a month before the May 21 blaze at a female dormitory at Mahdia that claimed 19 lives.
Speaking yesterday with Stabroek News via phone, acting Fire Chief Dwayne Scotland said that the exercise is ongoing and had commenced approximately one month prior to the Mahdia fire.
This proactive measure, Scotland says, aims to comprehensively evaluate the fire safety measures in place and identify potential hazards that can result in disaster. Scotland noted that the majority of inspections at the schools have been completed. He explained too that a recent inspection was carried out on the male dormitory at Mahdia. When asked what the findings of that inspection were, the acting fire chief replied that the report has not yet reached Georgetown.
Since the Mahdia dorm fire, questions has been raised on the preparedness to respond in the case of fires at schools and dormitories across the country. Subsequent to the inspection, a report will be compiled highlighting the findings. Grills at the Mahdia dorm had been cited as one of the major problems on May 21.
Liliendaal dormitory
On a visit by Stabroek News yesterday to the Liliendaal Dormitory, which is the lone dorm facility supervised by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, it was observed that windows and doors on the lower flat of the building were secured by grills. Stabroek News gathered that it was a measure to prevent theft. It was also observed that the facility was outfitted with fire sprinklers and alarm systems, which are said to be in a working condition. This newspaper was advised that visits to the facility require permission from the Amerindian Affairs Ministry. Sources have told Stabroek News that grilled windows at the Mahdia Secondary School Dormitory were flagged by the fire service as a hazard in November of last year and
February of this year. The Guyana Fire Service in a statement last Tuesday night said that the 26 windows of the flat concrete dormitory “were heavily grilled” while the five doors on the building were locked with keys.
Scotland, in a previous news article, while responding to questions from this newspaper, stated that there was limited evidence to suggest fire prevention measures were in place at the dormitory. He noted that while they found empty fire