Fire hydrants to be installed in neglected areas in Reg 6

As part of activities to commemorate Fire Prevention Week, the Guyana Fire Service will, for the first time, be installing hydrants in several communities in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

New Amsterdam is the only municipality that currently has water hydrants, and that is a worrying situation, according to Divisional Fire Officer Clive McDonald.
Addressing the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on Thursday, the fire official disclosed that 30 hydrants would be installed throughout the region.
“We will be getting 30 hydrants in Region Six. That is just for the first stage. So, we have to install those hydrants. We have to work in collaboration with the regional authority and all of the other Government arms, including GWI (Guyana Water Inc), because we do not have the resources; so, we are stretching our arms to the stakeholders, and especially the regional authority, for things like human resources, excavators. And then, of course, when we dig and we plant, we will have to fill back, and probably roads might be damaged,” McDonald related.
Placing the responsibility for hydrants with the Guyana Fire Service followed a decision by President Dr. Irfaan Ali, who had set up a task force that the Chief Fire Officer reports to.
That task force was headed by Major General (ret’d) Joseph Singh, and included Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn; Minister within the Ministry of Local Government, Annand Persaud; and Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal.
McDonald noted that, by next week, a further 148 hydrants would be supplied to the GFS, and those would be distributed countrywide. “So, we are just asking for the assistance of the regional authority to assist us in installing these hydrants,” he pointed out.
Regional Chairman David Armogan has pointed out the need for the regional administration to assist.
“This is a very important development, because for too long fires have been taking place in certain areas, and there is no water supply. As a result of that, it has been impeding the work of the Fire Service. It is good that His Excellency the President has seen it fit to set a committee in place to ensure that fire hydrants are spread right across all of the regions of our country,” Armogan has declared.
The Guyana Fire Service is currently celebrating Fire Prevention Week, which is being observed under the theme “Working together as One Guyana to prevent fires”.