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GNIC not convinced Laparkan fire was act of arson
Kaieteur News – The Guyana National Industrial Company Incorporated (GNIC) is not convinced that the recent Laparkan fire that destroyed millions worth of imported vehicles and goods was an act of arson.
Fire fighters extinguishing the flames at the Laparkan bond earlier this week.
This is according to a release the company issued yesterday, one day after Acting Fire Chief, Gregory Wickham, revealed that his investigators at the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) had found that the blaze was a “malicious act.”
GNIC stated that it is deeply grateful for the collaborative efforts of the GFS and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for their quick response to the fire that destroyed the Laparkan bond on Sunday last.
However, as it relates to reports that the fire was an act of arson, GNIC noted that there has been no conclusive evidence to support this theory determined by the GFS’ findings.
Moreover, the company stated, “in the absence of an official report from the Guyana Fire Service and/or Guyana Police Force, GNIC is now forced to refute these erroneous allegations” that have been circulating in the press.
According to GNIC, it operates a Close Circuit Television Monitoring System (CCTV) on a 24-hour basis.
“Central to this system is the positioning of a wide range of cameras in a number of strategic areas on the Wharf and Bond among others,” continued the release.
Footage recovered from these cameras, stated GNIC, “were reviewed jointly by investigators from its security department, GFS and GPF and there was no conclusive evidence of the alleged arson which seems to be now circulating in the press by certain Media Houses.”
The company went on to describe the GFS findings as an “unsubstantiated claim” and added that it is in the process of obtaining a report backed by evidence highlighting the cause of the fire.
When contacted yesterday, Fire Chief (ag), Wickham said that he stands by the findings of the GFS investigators.
He said that while he is not aware that the GNIC is conducting its own investigation, there is only one body mandated by law to determine the cause of the fire and that is the GFS.
Wickham told this newspaper that his investigators were able to come up the findings by thorough investigations which included the reviewing of CCTV footage. Part of the investigations conducted by the GFS entailed intelligence work and interviews.
The findings, Wickham related, has been handed over to police investigators to continue the investigations.
“Our duty is to find out the cause of the fire, catching suspects and bringing them to justice will be the responsibility of the Guyana Police Force,” Wickham stated.
Another “erroneous reports” that the GNIC refuted yesterday is that it did not have a proper fire prevention mechanism in place and that “the fire might have been caused by improper storage of chemicals.”
“GNIC wishes to state categorically that its fire prevention system meets the basic requirements of the statutory safety and fire requirements inclusive of a fire plan and response mechanisms,” the company stated in its release.
It added that fire extinguishers are installed in all of its departments that are monitored and controlled via a Health and Safety Officer identified as an ex-employee of the GFS.
As it relates to reports that the fire might have been “caused by improper storage of chemicals,” GNIC called these “misleading, without substance and totally false.”
It should be noted, however, that Kaieteur News had reported that eyewitnesses of the blaze had related that fire had erupted where chemicals belonging to an oil company operating in Guyana were stored and not that it had caused the fire.
Wickham had also told this newspaper that this was related to his investigators by eyewitnesses during the initial stage of the investigations.
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