Fire averted at Essequibo Technical Institute

A major fire was averted at the Essequibo Technical Institute (ETI) after fast response by the Guyana Fire and Rescue Service led to its quick extinguishing.
Reports are that at about 09:40h on Monday, the Fire Service was called in after electrical sparks were seen in the control panel area.

The damaged control panel

The Guyana Fire and Rescue Service in a release on Tuesday evening said that the incident may have occurred as a result of a breakdown in electrical installation. This led to a control panel being ignited and severely damaged.
“Firefighters utilized a 4.5kg dry chemical fire extinguisher to extinguish the fire and brought the situation under control,” GFS said in a statement.
Less than two weeks ago, major catastrophe was averted when a fire, suspected to be electrical in nature, started at the Amelia’s Ward Primary School in Region 10.
Reports are that about 13:00h, a staff member observed flames in one of the classrooms and immediately sounded an alarm. Fire responders were called and it is suspected that the fire started from an electrical cable, situated in a classroom on the upper flat of the institution.
Earlier in the month, the Guyana Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the massive fire that destroyed the St George’s High School in Georgetown in July was electrical in nature.
A rise in school fires has been observed in the past two years, which saw the North Ruimveldt Multilateral and North West Secondary School being destroyed.
Last month, the sod was turned for the reconstruction of several sections of the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School in Georgetown to the tune of $566.9 million.