Diamond Secondary School was deliberately set on fire – Fire Service

An investigation into the fire which destroyed a section of the Diamond Secondary School last Monday has concluded that the building was deliberately set on fire.
Fire Prevention Officer of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), Andrew Holder told this publication on Saturday that arson was confirmed after inspecting the crime scene and evidence.
On Thursday, it was confirmed that the GFS have wrapped up their investigation and are awaiting confirmation from the Government Electrical Inspector so as to determine the cause of the fire.
“The fire was deliberately set at the Diamond school,” said Holder when contacted.
Reports are that the guard stationed at the school noticed flames emanating from the front building within the compound at about 02:00h on Monday last and raised an alarm. With the assistance of public-spirited citizens, the fire was contained before firefighters arrived at the scene.
The Education Ministry stated that the fire began in the administrative building, which housed the head teacher and deputy head teacher’s offices along with the computer laboratory and library.
According to the Ministry, checks were made by the GFS to ascertain whether there was a power surge affecting that area at the time of the blaze. It was later found that there was no fault in the electrical supply.
Regional officials were then engaged to cater for the smooth operations of the school when it reopens. All public schools are expected to open on January 7, 2019.
In November, several persons working at the school were under investigation after a large sum of money, which was collected from students for the school’s graduation ceremony, reportedly disappeared.
Guyana Times understands that the money was stored in a secured safe and only a few individuals were granted access, causing speculation as to where the monies disappeared to.
During the probe of that incident, four teachers were taken into custody and questioned at the Golden Grove Police Station. They were subsequently released on station bail.