A total of 44 persons have been killed by fires so far for this year, with four of those deaths recorded in the past two days.
The number represents an increase, when compared to those who died tragically as a result of fires in 2022.
In 2022, a total of 9 persons lost their lives in fires.
Speaking to News Source just outside of his Brickdam Office today, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn said the Mahdia Secondary School Dormitory fire that claimed the lives of 20 children including a 5-year-old boy is one of the primary reasons for the increased deaths.
He said the majority of the fires were maliciously set or caused as a result of the malfunctioning of aged-old electrical systems.
“Yes, there is an increase in fires, much of it related to arson or malicious setting of fires…There is of course, an ongoing issue with aged electrical wiring in homes. Many homes have wiring, which is 20-30 years old, and the more equipment or appliances you put on it, it becomes a problem, and if you leave it running without paying attention. The electrical issues, the malicious setting of fires and arson, those are the particular reasons,” Minister Benn explained.
The Home Affairs Minister said sadly the increase in fires is being recorded despite the best efforts of the Guyana Fire Service to raise greater awareness among the populace on various fire prevention measures that should be implemented in both domestic and commercial settings.
“We are disappointed that there haven’t been sufficient responses in terms of the advice we have been giving publicly. The Guyana Fire Service has been doing public outreaches every week at the market places where most people are, they have been doing visits to schools, and when school reopens, they will again do visitations and drills and other activities,” the Home Affairs Minister said.
He said following the two deadly fires in Linden, and Good Hope Essequibo yesterday, the Guyana Fire Service signaled its intention to ramp up its awareness programmes utilizing all streams of communication including the use of social media.
As a first step, persons are being urged to install smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in their homes and businesses.
“We are emphasizing again, the need for people to put in homes smoke alarms and fire detectors. It is the simplest of things. The fire in Good Hope, of course, the main fire station we have there, the only one really on the Essequibo Coast is at Anna Regina, and the distance between the source of the fire in Good Hope and Anna Regina is a 20-minute elapse time to get to the scene. So, by then, the only thing one could have done was to out the flames and make recoveries. But the critical issues even in Georgetown where the fire stations are close around in a heavily populated area, if there is a fire in your home, and if your home is grilled, if you cannot get out within three to five minutes, you will likely die or seriously injured as a result of the fire,” Minister Benn reasoned.
The Acting Fire Chief, Gregory Wickham told News Source that the number of fires have also increased when compared to 2022.
According to him, the Guyana Fire Service recorded a total 1,085 fires from January 1 to August 14, 2023 compared to 686 fires during the same period last year. (Svetlana Marshall)
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