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UG lecturer injured fighting fire on campus

May 07, 2011 News

University of Guyana lecturer Carlyle Benjamin found himself in the hospital yesterday afternoon after he tried to put out a fire on campus.
According to reports by eyewitnesses smoke was seen emanating from a dumpster just outside of the University Sports Bar about 13:00 hours. When the students opened the dumpster they realised that the huge receptacle was filled with paper that had begun to burn. The people said that this could have been disastrous considering its proximity to the Sports Bar storeroom which contained large quantities of alcohol.
Mr. Benjamin, who is a lecturer attached to the Electrical Engineering Department of the University’s Faculty of Technology, was nearby when some students raised the alarm.
He immediately went to the nearest fire point and retrieved an extinguisher. He advanced on the dumpster and released the catch on the trigger for the extinguisher and squeezed the trigger releasing the carbon dioxide foam.
For reasons unknown the nozzle on the extinguisher had been disconnected from the hose. The hose which had a heavy metal connection at the end slipped out of Mr. Benjamin’s hand. It began flailing about wildly spewing its white foam and scattering the crowd that had gathered.
Before the lecturer could catch the hose it struck him in the forehead and inflicted a deep gash which started bleeding profusely. A first year student stepped up and took the extinguisher while others nearby helped Mr. Benjamin to a seat. Soon after, he had to be rushed to the hospital.
Meanwhile the student with the extinguisher continued to use it on the dumpster while another student brought out a bucket of water from the sports bar washroom and dumped it onto the contents of the dumpster which had to be upended for them to reach the fire. It was also pointed out that eventually the entire hose came off the fire extinguisher before the fire was put out.
The cause of the fire remains unknown but students speculate that it may have been a carelessly discarded cigarette or a thoughtless prank.
Whichever the case may be, the consequences were certainly unfortunate for Mr. Benjamin. It also paints a grim picture of the possibilities should a larger fire ever break out on the campus.

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