Mae’s School flattened by fire

Mar 06, 2025 News

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…owner says building was uninsured, govt pledges support

By Francwa Fortune

Kaieteur News- Fire of unknown origin on Wednesday morning destroyed Mae’s School located in Subryanville. The owner said the facility was not insured as he scrambles to put contingency systems in place to ensure the students’ learning is not disrupted.

President Dr. Irfaan Ali has since met with the owner, staff, and several parents during which he emphasised that, despite the school being privately operated, the students are the nation’s children. As such he said the government will support efforts to ensure their swift return to learning. The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security will also provide counseling services for the children, parents, and teachers affected. A special committee has been established, comprising teachers, parents, and owners, to develop a plan for moving forward.

In addition, Georgetown International Academy (GIA) has agreed to accommodate 350 students, while various other alternatives are being explored for the remaining students to ensure they can resume classes as swiftly as possible, including offers from other privately-owned institutions to assist in accommodating students.

Kaieteur New was told that the fire started sometime around 07:45 hrs. David Sugrim one of the owners said that around this time he received a call from his wife informing him of the inferno. “My wife called me and tell me there is a fire at the school, by the time she reached here and I reached here the top of the building was already completely burnt,” David Sugrim told this newspaper at the scene.

He explained that their main focus is on the children and the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand has pledged her assistance. However, he said they will be utilising the play field, where they will be erecting some air-conditioned tents as early as next week. Sugrim has estimated his losses in the billions. Sugrim, late last year acquired the school from former owner Mayfield French Rodrigues.

When Kaieteur News arrived on the scene, firefighters were battling to contain the blaze.  A staff member told the media that she was in the building when a child ran to her informing her that there was a small fire in a Grade Four class room. She then raised an alarm throughout the school and then proceeded to assist with the evaluation process.

“I was going to take breakfast after I change off, and a lil child come to me and said Miss a small fire is in Grade Four Gold. I drop everything that I was doing and run and halla for the cleaners and run upstairs to try to clear out the building with the kids and everything,” the staff member recounted.

One of the school’s accounting staff members, Shamane Pieters-Smith told this publication that herself and colleagues were in the school in their office, while the building’s top floor was ablaze as they were unaware of the approaching danger. She was then later informed at approximately 08:20hrs by a security that the school was on fire. “Our office is way at the back, so when everybody done exit then the guard remembered us and come and call we out” she said. Charmaine George the canteen attendant recounted her experience for this publication. She told Kaieteur News that she was in the building, and had already commenced preparing meals for the students as a few of them had placed their orders. She added that she saw students leaving the building and the head security of the school informed her that the school was on fire and they needed assistance in making sure that the students evacuated safely. “I was in the building, we had just stared cooking and I see the children running so I peep to see what was going on, when I see the school was on fire, I told the girls to turn off everything and we run out. I was only able to grab my vehicle keys,” she recalled.  A teacher told Kaieteur News that she was running late for work and when she arrived, she was told to park away from the school because they saw smoke coming from the building. “When I turn in the street one of the parents told me to pull in the corner because smoke coming out of the school. By the time I park and coming out the whole school was on fire…” the teacher said.

In an official statement to the media the school said urgent systems are being put in place to ensure that their students’ educational journey and semester continue uninterrupted.

For its part the Ministry of Education in a statement recounted the minister’s visit to the site and what transpired. “During her visit, Minister Manickchand expressed her deep concern for the affected students, teachers, and families. She pledged the full support of the Ministry of Education and Government of Guyana to ensure that the students of Mae’s School will be accommodated at public schools to continue their education seamlessly, especially Grade 6 and 11 students who will be sitting the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations,” the ministry said.

 

Accompanying the minister was a team of senior officials from the Ministry’s Examinations Division and School Support Services. “The Ministry of Education will continue to engage with the school’s administration, parents, and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition for the affected students and to provide ongoing support as needed.”

Fully engulfed

Andre Holder Divisional Officer in Charge of Operation for Guyana Fire Service (GFS) told the media that when firefighters arrived on the scene the top flat of the school was fully engulfed in flames and all occupants were out of the building. During the battle with the blaze two of the firemen were injured, and were subsequently rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for medical attention. Holder revealed that on a normal fire call about four fire tenders are usually dispatched and based on updates or additional calls more would be deployed. However, in the instance of the Mae’s School fire he saw it fit to have all the fire stations in and around Georgetown respond, the headquarters and Eccles included. A total of nine fire attendants responded to the fire. He stated that initially they took an aggressive approach to the fire but as the situation escalated, they had to reshape their approach to a defensive one because the combustibles in the building were numerous and it was a threat to the lives of the fire fighters. “These two firefighting appliances the Bropnto sky lift, these are what actually saved the day given the fact that initially we could not have gained entrance into the building. They assisted in exterior firefighting and high angle firefighting,” Holder explained. He expressed his gratitude to Banks DIH Limited and Sheriff Security Services who assisted the GFS with water tenders to help douse the flames. He added that access to water, especially open waterways will always be an issue when fighting a fire, and on the morning of the fire it was a challenge because the GFS was not prepared for what they saw. Nevertheless, within a short space of time they were able to summon several other water assets to the scene. Established in 1992, Mae’s Schools has grown to be one of the most prestigious, and successful private schools, committed to providing quality education at all levels. The school caters to the education needs of children from play school to the secondary level.

(Mae’s School flattened by fire)

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• fire, GFS, Mace’s, School

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