An early morning fire, of so far unknown origin, has destroyed a building that housed the Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), Navindra Persaud, and his family.
At the time of this morning’s blaze, no one was at home.
The building, which is situated at lot 2 Strand and King Street, New Amsterdam, is owned by the Region Six Regional Democratic Council (RDC).
Reports are that when it was noticed that the building was on fire, one bedroom was already engulfed and the fire had spread to other parts of the wooden building.
Divisional Commander of Region Six, Senior Superintendent of Police Shivpersaud Bacchus, who lives next door, said he saw smoke coming from the building and raised an alarm.
According to Bacchus, he initially had difficulty getting on to the Fire Service in New Amsterdam but was able to make contact with authorities out of the region for them to use internal communication to get on to the local fire department.
The guard who was on duty at the REO’s residence said he did not know what number to use to call the fire service and so, he called Persaud who was at the time at his private residence in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).
Early arrivers at the scene related that the firefighters took some time after arriving before they got into action to put out the blaze.
Public-spirited citizens were forced to break the window of a car that was on the premises and put it into neutral to push the vehicle out of the yard.
REO Persaud, who arrived on the scene after the fire was extinguished, told this publication that despite it being a government build, his losses were huge.
He said he left the building at about 9:30h on Saturday and then received a call this morning that the building was on fire.
“The building is a government building but everything that was inside was owned by me including the stove, music set… The only thing they had was a sofa but every other thing was mine. I brought all my things from Georgetown,” the REO noted.
He said it was too early for him to estimate his damages.
“I can tell you that it is a lot because all my children have computers, laptops and other gadgets; they have quite a lot of gadgets, I can’t put a price on it and my wife’s jewellery,” he noted.
Persaud said about two weeks now, he has been experiencing a voltage fluctuation and called in Guyana Power and Light (GPL) together with electricians from the RDC and the problem was rectified.
“They came and tightened some stuff but I am not too certain if that could have triggered anything,” Persaud stated.
Meanwhile, Divisional Fire Officer, Clive McDonald, said the call was received at 7:45h at the operations room of the New Amsterdam Fire Service and within a few minutes two units were at the scene.
He said when the firefighters arrived the entire building was engulfed in flames.
“Immediately, they went into action to stop and suppress the spread of the fire. Subsequently, another vehicle was dispatched, that is the browser that carries 3000 over gallons of water and firefighting activity commenced.”
McDonald said initial investigations indicate that the fire was initially seen sometime between 7:20 -7:30h but the fire department received the call at 7:45h.
A probe has been launched into the origin of the fire.
