…says American Govt workers moved
The United States State Department on Monday issued an alert on the Pegasus Hotel. The alert comes hours after a major fire was averted at the hotel on Sunday night. However, the State Department has announced that US Government personnel staying at the hotel have decided to move to other locations. This move was made after there were dysfunctional fire alarms and emergency exits were cloaked.
Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown
On Sunday evening, guests at the Pegasus Hotel had to be treated for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in the kitchen area at about 22:45h.
The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) was summoned to the scene; and upon arrival, the fire fighters were able to contain the fire to one area.
When Guyana Times arrived at the scene, GFS Station Officer with responsibility for fire prevention, Andrew Holder, told the media that the fire started as a result of a ‘deep-fry’ accidently or deliberately left on. This, he noted, caused the appliance to overheat, and it eventually ignited the installation for the extractor.
This created a smoke-logged environment, but fire fighters were able to quickly put out the fire and create some form of ventilation.
All efforts were made to ensure that everyone was out of the building. Holder noted that smoke would have reached at least the second and third floods, thus causing some panic among the guests who were staying at the hotel.
The fire official noted that there were several safety breaches at the hotel. He said the emergency exit doors were chained and padlocked, there was no fire alarm, and staff were not trained to deal with such an occurrence.
“This is a serious breach of safety, and it has severe consequences,” Holder added.
Guest at the hotel expressed shock that there was no fire alarm. One guest recalled that he went to the emergency exit after his room was consumed by smoke, only to discover it locked.
Pastor Ellsworth Chester of Brooklyn New York told <<Guyana Times>> that he is on vacation with his children, and as he was on the second floor he started to smell smoke, and quickly alerted them, and they made their way out of the building.
He added that as he rushed to the emergency exit on the lower flat of the building, the doors were chained and locked. As he rushed to another exit, it was the same thing, and at that point in time he made up his mind that he had to go through the thick smoke. In addition, he reportedly went to all the doors on the second flood and alerted the occupants.
He was nevertheless thankful that no one was severely hurt as a result of the smoke.
An investigation has been launched into the incident by both the Guyana Fire Service and the Guyana Police Force.
