Deadly Mahdia dorm fire: Crowds, parked vehicles blocked firefighters’ response – Fire Officer tells CoI

– power failure forces postponement of hearings

The Guyana Fire Service’s response to the Mahdia Secondary School dormitory’s deadly fire was hindered by large crowds and parked vehicles, according to Officer-in-Charge of the Mahdia Fire Station, Ryan Scott.
He added that by the time the firefighters arrived at the scene, the raging inferno had already consumed the entire structure.
Scott was at the time testifying at the third public hearing of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Mahdia tragedy. However, his testimony was interrupted by a series of power failures, which forced the hearings to be suspended but not before giving an account of the events leading up to their arrival on the scene.
Scott recalled that on the night of May 21 at about 23:12h, he was alerted by a loud sound of a horn – a signal that he immediately recognised as an emergency.
An identifiable male raised the alarm that the Mahdia dormitory was on fire and firefighters mobilised to lend assistance.
It took less than two minutes for three firemen, including Scott, to be dispatched, with a distance of 1.5 miles to be covered to reach the dormitory. Scott recalled having difficulties arriving at the scene, owing to crowds and vehicles leading to the scene.
“There [were] vehicles double parked so we had to slow down to manoeuvre through these vehicles to get to the fire. The crowd was building up. When we arrived at the scene, there were Police, an ambulance, and a crowd already built up in the compound,” Scott told the CoI.
He added that despite Police presence, the crowds and vehicles were uncontrollable. By the time the GFS entered the compound, the fire had already ripped through the structure, and a section had collapsed.
“On arrival, the building was fully engulfed in flames. The front portion, the southern part of the building, of the roof had collapsed. Red and blue flames were emitting from the building,” the Officer-in-Charge recalled.
Serving for more than two decades at the Guyana Fire Service, Scott took up his position at the Mahdia Fire Station in 2022. He told the Commission that at the time, there was no serving member of the GFS at Mahdia, but rather, auxiliary persons manning the Fire Station and fire truck after undergoing a ‘crash course’ in basic firefighting.
“Basically, it’s just a crash course to show them how to operate the pump, control the branch and if there is a fire, they could assist in whatever way possible…There are no current auxiliary personnel in Georgetown. There are in Lethem, Mabaruma, Mahdia and Kwakwani.”
In Mahdia, there are 16 auxiliary personnel and eight trained firefighters.
Fire Inspector of the Fire Prevention Department, Javid Mohamed had previously testified before the CoI, where he recounted probing the tragedy after being sent into Mahdia.
Using their investigative capacity, the firefighters said there was no chance it could have been an electrical fire. In the area where the fire started, the door was permanently sealed off with about five mattresses piled up and a condemned washing machine in a makeshift storage area.
Having interviewed one of the survivors, Mohamed said he learned that a few hours before the fire started, there was an incident where the dorm mother found that a student was in possession of a cell phone – which is against the rules of the dormitory. Having difficulties confiscating the phone, the Deputy Head Mistress was called in and took away the phone.
The Guyana Fire Service has concluded that the fire was maliciously set, having obtained sufficient evidence of such.
A 15-year-old girl was charged in June with 20 counts of murder for the arson. She has since been detained at a Juvenile Holding facility. She was charged with the murders of Tracil Thomas; Lisa Roberts; Delicia Edwards; Lorita Williams; Natalie Bellarmine; Arriana Edwards; Cleoma Simon; Subrina John; Martha Dandrade; Loreen Evans; Belnisa Evans; Mary Dandrade; Omerfia Edwin; Nickleen Robinson; Sherina Daniels; Eulander Carter; Andrea Roberts; Bibi Rita Jeffrey, and five-year-old Adanye Jerome.
The Mahdia school’s dormitory housed students from the communities of Karisparu, El Paso, Micobie, and Chenapao, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).
At the time of the fire, there were 56 females and a five-year-old boy inside. The remaining students had gone home for the weekend. The dormitory’s 26 windows were heavily grilled and the five doors were locked when the fire broke out.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s hearing of the CoI was postponed following a power outage. The public hearing will continue today. (Rupa Seenaraine)