Staff and other personnel attached to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Headquarters, Camp Street, Georgetown, on Tuesday were positively informed that they can resume work after an immediate evacuation exercise was carried out following the sight of smoke emitting from a department on the third floor.
Initial reports stated that it might be a bomb since over the past weeks, several establishments had received bomb threats. However, an employee who asked not to be named, confirmed that it was not a bomb threat but rather smoke emanating from a wire which was suspected to have caught afire.
Reports confirmed that no major damage occurred as the Guyana Fire Service arrived promptly at the scene and brought the situation under control.
When Guyana Times arrived on the scene, frustrated staffers of the State-owned company were seen gathered in their numbers outside of the premises waiting on instruction on their next move.
GRA employees waiting to re-enter the building
Ranks of both the Guyana Fire Service and Guyana Police Force who were present at the scene, were observed to be inspecting the compound after which employees were allowed to re-enter the building.
A senior Police official at the scene told the media that he was unable to give a comment on the incident and as such, directed all questions to the Crime Chief.
On the other hand, when contacted, Fire Prevention Officer Andrew Holder was unable to provide sufficient information on what had transpired at the establishment. “I was told that it was a bomb scare, I wasn’t fed with any other information which would suggest that it was a fire”.
