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Home Affairs Minister criticizes GFS lack of planning during Linden protests
Kaieteur News- Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn has criticized the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) for its inadequate action planning during recent protests in Linden, Region 10.
Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn
The minister’s remarks come in the wake of tense protests in Linden, triggered on Tuesday morning after residents of the mining town took to the streets in anger. The situation quickly escalated into chaos, with protestors setting tyres on fire and blocking the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge.
Speaking at the opening of the Guyana Fire Service Senior Officers’ Conference, held at the Police Officers’ Mess Annex on Thursday, Minister Benn said the Fire Service was unable to respond to the situation, which saw burning tyres blocking key roadways and bridges.
“The confidence, the support, the courage amongst that body of men – supporting each other, giving each other courage to deal with the issues – has to be there,” Benn stated. “I say again that sometimes, when we should be in a joint operation, as at Linden the other day, we shy away from a proper approach to making a situation not degenerate to what it became.”
Referring directly to the GFS’s response, he continued, “When the persons lit the fires on the road, there were hardly anybody (firefighters) around, only those who lit the fire. And if we were ready, we could have gone and put it out before it got any worse. We have to understand why we could allow them to get behind us on the bridge and light the bridges on fire, and we were retreated somewhere.”
Minister Benn emphasized the importance of strategic preparedness and accountability in emergency response. He called for the development and discussion of after-action reports to improve future operations.
“The reason we have after-action reports is to discern what may have gone wrong and to suggest – along with those who are working with us on the ground – how we could do it better the next time,” he said. “Mistakes will happen… but it is about mitigating, to reduce, make minimal the question of mistakes rising to the level where it gets things get completely out of control.”
He added, “After-action reports must be discussed with the leading members and the unit members who were involved.”
The Home Affairs minister also addressed issues related to equipment, proper leadership, and preparedness among firefighters, noting that the frontline responders must be properly uniformed and supported.
“I want to say again to the Guyana Fire Service and its men and women – the lower ranks – you are not expendable,” Benn stressed.
“The reason we provide you with the equipment, the helmets, all the other things we provide you with, and the training, the opportunity to relate to other fire service, and why we are concerned and engaged with you, is because we want to make sure we pass on to you for what is a difficult dangerous job and that you are risk aware and risk averse,” Benn said.
The minister said that firefighters must me properly managed on-site so that there will be no case of loss of life. “If we have the tools to do the job, we must do the job efficaciously and with care for the welfare of those going into action.”
Benn further expressed frustration over reports that firefighters were seen without proper uniforms and lacked basic supplies. “I don’t want to go on the fire scene and to see the leading persons don’t have proper uniform, not prepared, confused as the rest walking around with bottles of water, they had to drink their own water, when the men going into the fire don’t have water supply or catering which I said they must be provided,” he said.
The two-day Senior Officers’ Conference is expected to focus on evaluating the strategic direction of the GFS, addressing emergency response challenges, and developing solutions to enhance the service’s effectiveness.
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