Fire Chief (ag) Gregory Wickham says it is “alarming” that another fire has been maliciously set to yet another major shipping complex in Georgetown.
Within the space of two weeks, fires have erupted at two of the country’s major shipping facilities located on Lombard Street, Georgetown.
On Sunday, January 30 at around 08:00hrs, a fire erupted at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation’s (GNSC) workshop which was an aged wooden building, referred to as the “gear room”, which was being used to store gears and parts for ships.
Quick response from the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) resulted in the blaze being contained to that area, and as such, the organisation suffered minimal losses.
Two weeks prior on January 16, a fire erupted just before midnight at a bond at the Guyana National Industrial Company Incorporated (GNIC), destroying millions of dollars’ worth of items including vehicles. The GFS has already determined that this fire was an act of arson – a claim that did not sit well with the company’s management.
In the case of the most recent inferno at the GNSC, the GFS has also determined that the fire was “maliciously set by person or persons unknown.”
Asked whether the two fires are related, the Fire Chief (ag) said “that we would not be able to discuss…” He had previously told this publication that authorities would likely investigate any possible linkages between the two infernos, given the coincidence of the blazes.
“Maybe when the investigations are completed, they’ll be able to find if any relations are between the two fires,” the Fire Chief had reasoned.
However, when contacted for an update today, Wickham explained that “no two fires are the same and therefore each fire must be treated with their level of seriousness and each fire must be treated with the values added to fires and we look at also the loss they suffered.”
Nevertheless, he expressed “and of course, it’s alarming that we have yet another fire being maliciously set by person or persons unknown.”
Asked whether this information has been passed on to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Fire Chief (ag) noted that “the police would normally request any information of fires, I’m not certain that I would have seen that request come in…”
Though it has been more than a week since the GFS determined that the fire at the GNIC Wharf was maliciously set, there are no reports of anyone being arrested in relation to that crime.
