— 98% documents, DPP office saved
A ravaging fire on Saturday afternoon tore through the wooden structure which housed the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Police Force’s Office for Professional Responsibility (OPR) at Eve Leary, Georgetown.
The OPR’s office was completely destroyed by the blaze, while hours of battling the flames aided in the Guyana Fire Service’s (GFS) efforts in saving the DPP’s office.
The OPR is the Police Force’s internal investigative unit and housed the barracks for officers from the Force’s headquarters and one other office.
The fire reportedly started around 13:50h according to Fire Chief Kalamadeen Edoo and firefighters from the West Ruimveldt, Central, Alberttown and Campbellville Fire Stations were immediately dispatched to the scene.
The Fire Chief said the Fire Service received reports that the construction department at the Eve Leary Police Station was on fire, and upon arriving at the scene, firefighters realised that it was the OPR’s office on fire.
“Immediately we went into firefighting mode and we were able to contain the fire. There were a few difficulties in terms of accessing water from the hydrant; the pressure was not to the full pressure that we would have needed but we made contact with GWI, and they started to boost the pressure…”, he said.
Edoo said due to the frequency of fires that have been occurring as of recent, the Fire Service is even more alert, since public buildings are being destroyed.
“It is a concern at this point and time and we are taking notes of such, and will do further investigations to find out what is the reason.”
Meanwhile, at the scene, Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie told reporters that the building housed several offices while reassuring the public that the Police have systems in place to account for the files and other materials in the OPR office that were destroyed.
He also added that systems are also being put in place to ensure that the fire does not hamper the Force’s progress.
“The area where the fire would have started, efforts are being made to make sure all are safe. As a matter of fact, we have already taken out all of the documents from the DPP’s office…together as a team we will put systems in place to ensure that it doesn’t hamper our progress.”
As the fire was ripping through the OPR’s office, several files from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chambers were being taken to safety. At one point, the staffers were seen throwing scores of files from the upper flat of the building in an effort to save them.
The DPP, Shalimar Ali-Hack was at the scene and did not speak to reporters, however, the Communications Officer, Liz Rahaman said they were informed about the fire, after receiving several calls that their office was engulfed in flames. They immediately rushed to the scene.
She said the DPP’s office was able to save 98 per cent of their legal files after members of the Police Force were mobilised and assisted in moving the documents to safety.
Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, who was on the scene coaching firefighters on how to put out the blaze, told reporters that the fire has put the operations of the OPR’s office in disarray along with the operations of the DPP’s Chambers.
“Their files and documents would have to be taken somewhere, where they will have to be re-sorted out, and put them in a condition where they can be accessed properly… the operations related to this building are completely perturbed…”.
“When I got here, there were mattresses and files being brought out of the Office of Professional Responsibility, but in respect of these, two-thirds of the building was on fire so I don’t think there was much that could’ve been saved here,” Benn said.
The Minister said that Guyana is currently experiencing a trial by fire, and it is putting the lives and the employment of individuals at risk. He added that the Government is still working to fulfil its mandate.
When asked how he feels about the Fire Services’ response to the blaze, Minister Benn responded “I am not happy”.
Further, Benn stated that it appears that a subliminal message is being put around the country starting from some pyrotechnic-minded person in the United States while nontin that the PPP Government will stand firm.
On the scene, vendors who were vending not too far away from where the fire started, told Guyana Times that they heard loud explosions coming from the building, and sometime later, smoke was seen emanating from the OPR’s building.
The cause of the fire remains unknown, as a probe was launched. This fire come just more than a month after the Brickdam Police Station was completely destroyed by fire, displacing some 398 ranks.
