In protest of not getting to use the lavatory or take a bath, 11 prisoners who were arrested over the weekend for various offences reportedly set the Brickdam lock-ups on fire on Sunday evening.
Brickdam Police Station
The fire was reportedly set between 21:00h and 21:27h by using jerseys and food boxes. However, the fire was immediately extinguished by ranks of the Brickdam Police Station. Police in a release stated that no one was injured nor were any damages incurred as a result of the fire.
In addition, the Police reiterated that none of the 11 prisoners had exceeded their 72-hour detention period.
In July last year, the Lusignan penitentiary, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was set on fire by protesting inmates after a team was dispatched to probe the discovery of narcotics.
It was reported that at least 15 prisoners received minor injuries. The inmates might have suffered from severe smoke inhalation with a few taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital to receive further medical attention.
Based on reports, the fire, which started in one section of the facility, quickly spread to other areas, thus causing chaos among inmates.
As a result of the riot coupled with the fire, the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and Joint Services were immediately summoned to maintain order. The inmates were quickly relocated to a secure area in the compound under heavy guard.
Several areas in the facility were completely destroyed as a result of the fire.
As a result of a fire on July 10, 2017, at the Georgetown Prison, one prison officer was killed and several high-profile criminals had escaped including Bartica and Lusignan massacre convict Mark “Royden” Durant aka “Royden Williams” and Uree Varswyck aka “Malcolm Gordon”.
Hundreds of prisoners were evacuated from the facility and taken to the Lusignan, Timehri, New Amsterdam and Mazaruni Prisons.
