Mahdia Tragedy will remain an “object lesson” for Fire Service – Benn

…dorms being equipped with alarms, extinguishers

Just over three months after 20 children perished in a fire that devastated the Mahdia Secondary School girls’ dormitory in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn reiterated that it will remain an ‘object lesson’ for the Guyana Fire Service (GFS).
During a GFS event on Thursday, Benn zeroed in on the fire – which was maliciously set by a student of the institution.

“It will remain an object lesson for the Guyana Fire Service, in relation to the inspections and supporting issues directly in relation to prevention at particular places. I want to thank the firefighters who engaged in that particularly difficult circumstance.”
In the early hours of May 22, the fire had already ripped through the Mahdia school dormitory thus leaving Subrina John, Belnisa Evans, Loreen Evans, Bibi Rita Fiona Jeffrey, Lisa Roberts, Tracil Thomas, Delecia Edwards, Lorita Williams, Natalie Bellarmine, Arianna Edwards, Cleoma Simon, Martha Dandrade, Mary Dandrade, Omerfia Edwin, Nickleen Robinson, Sherlyn Bellarmine, Eulander Carter and Andrea Roberts dead.
Adanye Jerome, the five-year-old son of the dorm mother, was also among those who perished. It was reported that the fire was allegedly set in the bathroom area of the dormitory.

According to the surviving female students, they were asleep and were awakened by screams. Upon checking, they saw fire/smoke in the bathroom area, which quickly spread into the building.
While 19 students and the five-year-old son of the dorm mother perished, others also suffered injuries and smoke inhalation while several managed to escape.
Coming out of this incident, the Home Affairs Minister shared that the necessary preventative and firefighting mechanisms are being installed in dormitories to prevent a recurrence.
“We did reviews of the building and recommendations were made, which had to be followed up. Since then, we have been working to install, particularly for dormitories and other places, the fire alarms and extinguishers. We also talked about access and hammers.”

However, the facility at the time of the fire housed about 59 students from the communities of Karisparu, El Paso, Micobie and Chenapau. Following the devastation, the Fire Service had reported that 14 of the teenagers were burnt to death at the scene, while five died at Mahdia District Hospital. The 20th died while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Another student, Mariza Williams was initially seeking treatment at the Georgetown Public Health) before being medically evacuated (medevacked) to the Regional Burn Centre at Northwell Health, Staten Island University Hospital in the United States for advanced care.
The 12-year-old student was subsequently discharged following three months of surgeries, skin grafts, physical rehabilitation and grief counselling
Though her face was spared, she suffered second and third-degree burns to her back, legs and arms, accounting for more than 40 per cent of her body. She took 92 days to get to this point in her recovery.
Meanwhile, the much-anticipated Commission of Inquiry (CoI) probing the Mahdia dorm tragedy has opened and will last for two months.
The team will investigate and report on what actions were taken to provide care, medical attention, and support to the injured and deceased and their relatives, in a timely manner.
Recommendations are also expected from the Commission, which will include necessary measures to prevent a reoccurrence of such tragedies. (G-12)