Over 1,000 students displaced as Mae’s School reduced to ashes

…Govt pledges support for displaced students

A massive fire that erupted early on Wednesday morning has completely destroyed the Mae’s Schools in Subryanville, Georgetown, leaving the institution in ruins and displacing over 1,000 students and dozens of staff.

The fire, which started just before 8:00h and quickly spread through the wooden-and-concrete buildings, forced a frantic evacuation effort. While no student or staff was harmed, two firefighters were injured while battling the intense blaze.
The first sign of trouble came when a student noticed smoke emanating from the roof of the building, and recounting the terrifying moment when she was alerted, Administrator Miss Lucinda McCurdy detailed, “A little boy said, ‘Miss, smoke is coming from the roof!’ and before you knew it, that was it.”
She said that in spite of efforts being immediately employed to contain the fire, it spread quickly.
“Of course we tried! Our SOAR team tried to do it externally, fire extinguishers and everything, pulled down all breakers and everything, but unfortunately…”, she trailed off, describing the school’s failed attempts to stop the inferno.
Classes had not yet begun at the school, which caters to children from as young as two years old up to secondary level, and that factor played a crucial role in preventing casualties, she explained. “School was not in session just yet. We start at 8:30,” McCurdy confirmed.
Imran Khan, a parent who had just dropped off one of his children at one section of the school, and was waiting to drop off the other one nearby, described the moment panic set in.
“I parked, and was waiting, then about 10 minutes later, I saw everybody running out of the school. I looked up and saw smoke coming from the attic,” he said.
Realizing the danger, he said, he rushed to his child’s classroom and attempted to contain the flames.
“I just grabbed a fire extinguisher and started spraying, but it wasn’t enough. The smoke got thick, and I had to drop [the extinguisher] and run,” he recalled.
Cleaner Renetta Somerset, who had just arrived for her morning shift, also found herself in the middle of the chaos.
“A little child ran to me and said, ‘Miss, a small fire in Grade 4 Gold!’” she recalled.

Somerset said that, without hesitation, she ran upstairs to assist in the evacuation, ensuring all children were out of the building.
“Even while clearing the building, I turned off all the switches that could have been causing the current. By the time I was about to go, I saw the fire and the smoke, and the scent alone…!” she recalled.
Somerset said she even went back inside the burning building to ensure that no student was left behind.
“I saw children in Grade 2 still playing in the classroom. I started screaming at them, ‘Fire! Fire! Fire!’ before running downstairs to the daycare to make sure all the little ones were out,” she said.
She told reporters that, despite her own fear, she made sure the youngest students were safely evacuated.
“The last thing I could pick up was my bag. Only my bag! I feel hard, because if it was something else, I don’t know what would have happened to me,” the tearful woman disclosed.
The Guyana Fire Service was quickly on the scene, with Divisional Officer Andrew Holder heading the operation.
“As I got closer, I saw the magnitude we were dealing with. I requested firefighting appliances from the outskirts of Georgetown, and that’s why we have all these firefighting units here today [Wednesday],” Holder explained.
Despite an aggressive initial response, firefighters were forced to change their approach.
“At first we employed an offensive firefighting mode, but as we continued, we had to switch to a defensive approach. The number of combustible materials in the building posed a severe threat to the life and limb of my firefighters,” Holder explained.
Holder revealed that the fire posed an immediate risk to nearby structures, including the MIMA depot, a business place that stored flammable materials.
“Our first and foremost approach was containment, and to prevent fire-spread to nearby buildings. We managed to do that within 30 to 45 minutes, which was a significant success,” he said.
The department received vital assistance from the private sector, with Banks DIH lending a large water tender to supplement the firefighters’ efforts, and Sheriff Security offering assistance.
“Access to water is always an issue in firefighting. Initially that posed a challenge, because we weren’t prepared for what we saw when we arrived. But when Banks’ truck arrived, it assisted the situation tremendously. So, kudos to the private sector,” Holder said.
Despite their best efforts, however, the school was completely razed, and two firefighters sustained injuries.
“Two of my firefighters were injured, and are currently undergoing medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital,” Holder confirmed.
Education Minister Priya Manickchand visited the scene and pledged the full support of Government. Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn and Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, also visited the scene to assess the damage and discuss further support measures.
Meanwhile, Sir Abdullah, a teacher at Mae’s Schools, expressed heartbreak over the loss of the institution, but remained determined to continue teaching.
“What we accomplished has been turned to ashes, but I keep reminding my co-workers and students that even though we are emotionally attached to the school, it is just a building. If we have to hold classes on the lawn, we will,” he said.
Calling on the community for support, Abdullah has said, “We don’t usually ask for help, but we need it now. Everything is demolished — our classrooms, textbooks, computers, offices. We have so many memories that are just gone. This school has been around for decades. Some of our ministers actually attended here.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. According to early reports, a utility pole opposite the school had been seen sparking shortly before the fire started. The Guyana Fire Service is now working to determine the exact cause of the blaze.
Meanwhile, a statement from the school just after the blaze on Wednesday detailed that the building was in the process of being insured but the documentation was not yet finalized, leaving the property uninsured.
Mae’s School had been plagued by electrical issues for years, but in 2015, a situation escalated when a nearby GPL utility pole sparked, causing panic.
Also, in September last year, a transformer connected to the school had exploded, resulting in a disruption to classes at the private educational institution. Children and teachers had to be safely evacuated once again. It was reported then that when the transformer exploded, it triggered sparks to certain outlets within the school.
While at the scene on Wednesday, some staff told the media that the school has been having electrical issues for years, and work on some upgrades had only recently been done.