Within the space of two weeks, fires have erupted at two of the country’s major shipping complexes located on Lombard Street, Georgetown – and the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) will be investigating any possible linkages of the two infernos.
This is according to Fire Chief (ag) Gregory Wickham who told INews that the investigation into the most recent fire which occurred on Sunday at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC) is still ongoing.
“They are now completing [the investigation] and preparing of that information to send me,” he explained.
At around 08:00hrs, a fire erupted at the GNSC’s 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 GFS resulted in the blaze being contained to that area, and as such, the organisation suffered minimal losses.
Two weeks prior, a fire erupted 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.
Nevertheless, given the coincidence of the two fires, the GFS will be probing any possible linkages or similarities.
“Maybe when the investigations are completed, they’ll be able to find if any relations are between the two fires,” the Fire Chief explained.
“I am depending strongly on the reports that the investigators would put out, but when I have gone through that, I’ll be able to find out and say ‘yes’ [or no],” he added.
Meanwhile, the Fire Chief further lauded the GFS for its quick response to the most recent fire.
“I want to commend the firefighters for their response, that is the view of the CEO of GNSC, shared also with me yesterday because I took the time off to speak with him and find out, and for him to give me an appreciation for what the firefighters would have done during the firefighting process, and the response time. He was very pleased and, so, yes it was a great job done by the firefighters,” he expressed.
