An early morning fire suspected to be electrical in origin destroyed a section of the mosque at Sister’s Village, West Bank Demerara (WBD) on Tuesday.
The fire was reportedly spotted at about 8:30h at the back section of the place of worship. Caretaker of the mosque, Reyad Khan, when contacted, told Guyana Times he was on the third-floor of the building when he heard persons starting to scream, “Fire!”
Flames emanating from the burning building on Tuesday
“When I came out, there was a lot of smoke emitting from the ceiling. So, we’re looking at it (that) maybe it was a fire that is related to electrical,” he explained.
He said he immediately raised an alarm, and the Guyana Fire Service was contacted.
Khan related that the Fire Service took some 30 minutes to respond, and that the firemen encountered issues with accessing water, but they eventually managed to contain the blaze to one location.
The fire tenders at the scene
However, a section of the masjid which was destroyed had been an extension to the building that was only recently constructed. At the time of the fire, classes were ongoing in a separate part of the structure, but the children were taken to safety.
Guyana Times was told that some $7 million in damage was recorded as a result of the fire. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the blaze.
