The fire that destroyed the house at Kwakwani Waterfront
A fire of unknown origin has completely ravaged the dwelling house of 31-year-old Ericka Gonsalves of Kwakwani Waterfront, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), leaving her and her six children homeless on Thursday evening.
No one was at home at the time of the blaze, but when Guyana Times arrived at the scene, the two-bedroom wooden house had already been ravaged by the fire.
Devastated, Erica Gonsalves related that she and her children were at her mother’s residence when she saw smoke emanating from the house. She said she had spent the day with her mother, who lives a stone’s throw away, explaining that she had gone home at 18:00h and turned on the lights in her home before returning to her mother’s house. She said that, at about 18:30h, she saw what appeared to be smoke emanating from her bedroom, and she immediately ran over, but within minutes the home was completely engulfed.
She said that, when summoned, the Guyana Fire Service had responded promptly, but unfortunately, the firemen could not have done anything to save the house from total destruction.
In a Facebook post on Thursday evening, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region 10 has expressed its dismay at the loss of property occasioned by the fire.
“This unfortunate incident brings into focus our continued call on more than one front; the need for a proper fire tender to be provided to this community, along with firemen in permanent employ being recruited to man a fire station there.
“The practice of utilizing volunteer firemen (and women), who are at work or in their homes otherwise engaged when this EMERGENCY call comes, results in too much time passing between the call for help and a mustered response, along with equipment which is in a less-than-desirable condition”, the report stated.
The RDC has further said it has received reports that an old fire truck is parked in the community, lending an appearance of capability when there are no pumps and hoses to respond to these emergencies. The Council has called for an urgent response to improving this capacity, and said it looks forward to the usual kind support of the Minister of Home Affairs in this regard.
“Secondly, we continue to call for the allocation of funding to the RDC under its Disaster Preparedness and Response Programme, so that immediate assistance could be mobilised for persons who unfortunately fall victim to these circumstances.
“The needs of this family tonight are immediate, and the earliest possible response is needed to ensure that the impact of this disaster on this family is mitigated. While this funding has not been provided to the RDC in the 2023 Budget, we call on the Government to utilize the resources of the agencies and organisations that they can leverage to provide this capability to the RDC Region 10 in the interim, before restoring this component of our budget in 2024 and beyond”, it has said.
It was also stated that the Regional Chairman is engaging the private sector and friends in the diaspora, as well as local contacts, to see what assistance could be mustered to be provided to victims of the fire.
Last year April, auxiliary firefighting was introduced by the Guyana Fire Service (GFS). Chief Fire Officer Gregory Wickham visited the island of Leguan, in Region Three (West Demerara-Essequibo Islands), where he met with residents and the introduction of auxiliary firefighters was brought under focus.
He explained the importance of auxiliary firefighters, as well as their roles and responsibilities. That discussion came on the heels of a fire at Wakenaam. The GFS then began training persons to conduct firefighting within remote communities.
The Fire Chief said volunteers will be trained in firefighting, fire safety, and fire prevention. Firefighting equipment, including a light pump and hoses, was provided for the volunteers to be used in the event of a fire.
They were also trained to inspect Government buildings and school visits.
In February last year, the Guyana Fire Service announced that 12 persons were trained and equipped with firefighting equipment to tackle fires on the Essequibo Island of Wakenaam, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
Meanwhile, in a letter to the Guyana Times Editor last year, a Kwakwani resident said there is a need for fire protection in Kwakwani.
“In Kwakwani, there is no rural fire department established, which leaves residential tract development and the occasional large industrial complex vulnerable to fire destruction. There has been a shift of the population from the riverine areas and Berbice metropolitan centres to the rural areas of Kwakwani.
“Instead of just scattered farm and ranch properties, the shift in population has created the need for a fire department in the community. Previously, it existed without fire protection; we must now consider establishing fire departments for both personal property protection and insurance premium savings.
“…it is of utmost importance that a fire department is properly organised and operated, so that it would provide the maximum protection of personnel, and the lives and properties of the public that it serves”, the resident said.
