Benn flags citizens lax approach to fire safety

Jan 10, 2025 News

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…as Guyana recorded 21 deaths by fire in 2024

Kaieteur News- Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, expressed concern over the public’s response to potential fire hazards, particularly regarding the lack of fire safety awareness and the failure to utilise basic firefighting tools.

His comments came on Wednesday during the handover of forty Rapid Intervention Vehicles to the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and the commissioning of the GFS’s new headquarters on Homestretch Avenue.

In his address, Minister Benn noted that while the GFS had recently received vehicles to enhance firefighting and rescue capabilities, several persistent issues remain. One significant concern he raised was the failure of citizens to adequately prioritise fire safety at homes and in businesses. He highlighted troubling incidents such as children being left unattended with access to matches and lighters, which can lead to devastating consequences.

“The question of fire alarms, smoke alarms. The question of even in buildings having sprinkler systems for large businesses because we still have situation where people may have invested millions and billions in businesses but they don’t have a fire extinguisher, a fire bucket, a sprinkler system, a hose leading from a tank to the first responders…”

Benn also discussed the challenges caused by the careless and malicious use of fire. He pointed out the danger of false fire calls, which drain resources and hinder the fire service’s ability to respond to real emergencies. “We still have the challenges of careless use of fire but we also have the malicious use of fire setting of fires and also arson which we have to respond to and there are also fire calls of malicious nature,” he explained.  “It drains away your energy when you responding to somebody crying wolf and there is no wolf and when there is a real wolf you might not be in a position to respond to the wolf having been flocked up with malicious calls during the day.”

Additionally, the minister emphasised the need for more responsibility when it comes to reporting fire-related accidents, particularly by bystanders who film victims. He stated, “EMT’s have had to work to recover people from vehicles which are damaged or burning and also to put the issues relating to accidents, the proper handling and recovering of persons who have been perished on the roads in accidents in a better position that they are properly covered and that they are better handled and we don’t want to have people walking at them with their cell phone and posting them on social media.”

 

In addressing these challenges, Benn reiterated that the GFS is working on improving its response times and efficiency. “We are building faster and more efficient response systems. We have put in place a monitoring room with cameras and GPS tracking for vehicles, ensuring they are properly maintained and managed,” he said. ”

In a separate briefing, GFS Fire Chief Gregory Wickham disclosed that there were 21 fire-related deaths recorded in 2024, a decrease from the 46 deaths reported in 2023. He attributed many of these fatalities to maliciously set fires and incidents where victims were trapped inside burning buildings. “There were persons trapped in entire buildings due to fires. Some of the causes were directly or maliciously related, and some misuse of electrical or cooking appliances,” Wickham said.

Last year, there were reports of fires that were maliciously set, and caused by children playing with matches and lighters which resulted in some deaths.

On December 30, 2024, three-year-old Amanie Abrahams tragically died in a fire at his home in Albouystown. Her mother had left the children home alone when the fire broke out. The two older children ran out of the house when the fire started, but due to the intense heat, Amanie was left behind in the bedroom. The fire service arrived but could not save the young child, whose remains were found burnt beyond recognition.

Another tragic fire occurred on November 12, 2024, in Corentyne, Berbice, when Hemwatie Singh and her four children perished in a blaze that was suspected to have been maliciously set. The fire started in a car parked below the house and spread rapidly, trapping the family inside while they slept.

Earlier in the year, a fire in East Coast Demerara claimed the life of three-month-old Leroy Archer, who was asleep in his home when the blaze broke out in July.

These devastating incidents underscore the urgent need for improved fire safety awareness and response systems in Guyana.

(Benn flags citizens lax approach to fire safety)

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• fire, fire safety, GFS, Ministry of Home Affairs

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