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Reckless and dangerous lighting of fires in Herstelling

Apr 16, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
I wish to highlight a matter of serious concern for the residents of Plot B, Plantation Herstelling. Some land owners are in the habit of setting fires to clear the land of grass etc. not taking into consideration the threat to properties in close proximity to the fires. On several occasions the Guyana Fire Service had to be called in to put out uncontrollable fires that had spread to other areas. On one occasion a resident lit his garbage on an unoccupied plot of land and the fire spread; the residents had to form bucket brigade to save a property since the fire service when called, said that the fire tender did not have any water so a message was sent to have one from another area.
On several other occasions the services of the Guyana Fire Service had to be sought to put raging fires out and I had hoped that the fire service report would have been sent to the relevant authorities. I want to believe that by-laws of the Housing Schemes stipulate against setting fires in housing areas. I just cannot understand the mentality of people doing this. Don’t they think beyond lighting a fire?
Apart from the threat to people’s properties, houses are engulfed in smoke and ashes, laundry must be redone and in some cases children and adults with respiratory illnesses need medical attention. In most instances, the perpetrators would douse the bushes and grass with flammable substances to ensure that it caught fire. I have witnessed so many run-away fires. Only last week someone lit a fire on their land to clear it and the fire spread to several lots away which is next to my property. On April 12, I witnessed one single person setting alight his (I assumed) land and the other buildings around it engulfed in smoke. The home owners had already left for work. I emphasized that one single person cannot control the flames should the fire spread.
This is a serious matter and I am calling on the NDC to conduct visits in the Council’s area of responsibility and to have matters of this nature brought under control. I am also calling on the Ministry of Communities and the Guyana Police Force to cooperate and ensure that such occurrences do not continue and that if it continues perpetrators must be penalized because this is a situation that can seriously go wrong. Imagine you have just completed construction of your property in millions of dollars borrowed from the bank and then some selfish individual (s) come burning up bushes next to it. The Ministry can ensure that notices are put in the newspapers and in the agreement of sale (if it’s not there already), and that this matter be highlighted to residents and land owners continually.
Indira Thakurdin

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