See full statement from the Guyana Fire Service:
Massive Blaze Affects Multiple Buildings at Non Pariel, ECD
At 9:42 hrs yesterday, the Guyana Fire Service received an emergency call reporting a fire at Lot 24 Block 12, Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara.
Water Tenders #105 and #106, Water Carrier #16, and Ambulance #23, along with their respective crews, were immediately dispatched to the scene. The water tenders arrived at 9:43 hrs, carrying a total of 9,274 liters of water. Firefighters began their operations at 9:44 hrs.
The affected structure was a single-storey wooden and concrete building, owned by 48-year-old Mohammed Azad Ali, who lived there with three others. Unfortunately, the fire completely destroyed the building and its contents, leaving the four occupants homeless.
The fire was caused by an overloaded sponge chipping machine that had been left plugged in for an extended period. The machine’s motor overheated, igniting nearby combustible materials and eventually engulfing the entire building.
Due to the intensity of the fire, four other buildings were also impacted.
A storage bond located at Lot 25 Block 12, Non Pariel was destroyed due to the radiated heat from the building of origin.
The external walls, a washing machine, a freezer, two tanks and a quantity of guttering and pipes of three neighboring buildings, located at Lots 22, 26, and 27 Block 12, Non Pariel, suffered varying degrees of damage, also from the radiated heat.
Firefighters initially used two jets from Water Carrier #16’s tank supply, then deployed two more jets from Light Pump #126, relayed through Water Tender #106, to fully extinguish the fire.
