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FM
Former Member

This does not appear to be an accident, could it be there is a mutiny inside the afc/apnu following their unconscionable 50% pay hike while the grassroots supporters have to make do with eddoes and yam?

 

 

The scene of destruction in wake of the fire at the University of Guyana
The scene of destruction in wake of the fire at the University of Guyana

Fire guts UG bond

 

By Shirley Thomas

THE Guyana Fire Service sprang into action late yesterday afternoon to fight a fire that broke out at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Guyana, forcing immediate evacuation of the entire university campus while triggering a major power outage of Turkeyen and contiguous areas on the East Coast of Demerara.

Destruction caused by the inferno

Destruction caused by the inferno

Students attending lectures in the Cheddi B. Jagan (CBJ) Lecture Theatre recalled looking across the campus and noticing fire emanating from the old storage building at about 19:00 hrs. They alerted their lecturer, who immediately discontinued classes, and the students grabbed their bags and exited the building.

Immediately alerted, the Central Fire Department of the Guyana Fire Service promptly dispatched three tenders to combat the flames – one from the CFD and two others from Alberttown.

Twenty-five fire fighters and six officers converged on the scene of the fire. Fire Officer Andrew Holder recalls the fire fighters were at one stage challenged to source water, but fortunately found a large pond located between the Bursary and the Library, and so were eventually able to obtain water to extinguish the fire.

The building in which the fire started on the University campus

The building in which the fire started on the University campus

At approximately 19:30 hrs, the firefighters had reportedly still not gone into the building, because it was rumoured to house a science lab, thus they were forced to approach the building with caution.

The other challenge the fire official recalled the firefighters facing was the presence of a lot of flames, which posed a severe threat of the fire spreading to surrounding buildings.

Asked what could have possibly caused the fire, Officer Holder said they were still in fire-fighting mode and were still trying to ascertain what was in the building at the time of, or prior to the fire. Albeit, they were able to contain the blaze to one building, before eventually extinguishing the fire. Asked for a comment on claims made by students that a loud explosion was heard in the building, Holder said there were only ordinary combustibles.

UG Vice Chancellor Professor Jacob Opadeyi confirmed that the fire started in, and was confined to, a condemned storage bond and not a laboratory, as was the view initially held. That building also accommodated old examination papers and other documents stored by lecturers.

Professor Opadeyi expressed gratitude to the firefighters for the sterling work they had done, claiming that he was ‘very pleased’ at their response to the fire call and the way they were able to manoeuvre and access water from the pond, even in difficult circumstances.

“I am very pleased with their performance, because the danger of the fire spreading was very high,” he confessed.

The Vice Chancellor said that another serious challenge was that the fire hydrants on the campus were not working.

Asked about the impact of the fire on classes, he said it is likely to be very little, particularly on the students. However, it is expected to have emotional and psychological implications for the lecturers. Also, there will be implications for those students’ papers that would have been destroyed in the blaze, since it is required that students’ scripts be kept for five years.

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Originally Posted by BGurd_See:

This does not appear to be an accident, could it be there is a mutiny inside the afc/apnu following their unconscionable 50% pay hike while the grassroots supporters have to make do with eddoes and yam? . . .

the bugurd, another ole skool bt shaker trawling fuh rough trade on GNI

 

uh huh

FM
Originally Posted by Cobra:
This is not an accident. It's intentionally to shift focus from the incompetent government.

It was an old building. You all leave the investigators to pronounce first.

 

 

FM

From what i'm seeing the PNC is in full control of this gov't. and the AFC leaders are acting like the stoogie PNC Indos from the dark post independence era. The AFC must demonstrate to the nation that they can not only shift the balance of power but they can make the government fair and accountable. This is not happening. Crime is out of control and the Granger regime shows no real concerns about its affects on the lives of people and the economy 

Billy Ram Balgobin
Originally Posted by KishanB:
Originally Posted by Cobra:
This is not an accident. It's intentionally to shift focus from the incompetent government.

It was an old building. You all leave the investigators to pronounce first.

 

 

Rather than re-furbish, now it would be a new structure. A much better approach.

S

CAribJ, cain and Redux, don't blame the messenger. Burning and looting has been a mainstay of the afc/apnu when in opposition. It is only fair to raise the question now. Disgruntled supporters may have expressed their frustration in the most primal manner, slow fiah mo fiah, to send a message to their leaders.  Remember they even tried to burn down St George's cathedral at the behest of Hoyte.  Why is this so far fetched that afc/apnu supporters would resort to what they know best in times of frustration?

 

Hardbeatnews, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Tues. Oct. 25, 2005:  The tallest timber church in the world, the historic Guyana St. George’s Cathedral, was on Sunday saved from being razed by fire.

Fire Chief Lawrence David was quoted by a GINA report as blaming arsonists for the fire, which left a few walls and carpets damaged but the church intact. 

According to David, sheets of newspapers were placed under the northern door of the church to start the fire.  The fire started at approximately 4:59 on Sunday, October 23.

The fire department is currently discussing with the church’s administration ways of improving security and for the installation of fire prevention mechanisms on the premises.

The St. George’s Cathedral, one of the nine-gazetted monuments in Guyana, was built between 1886 and 1892. It was reportedly built at a cost of $160,000 and designed by Sir. Arthur Blomfield, an English architect of Montague Square, London.

The foundation was laid on November 21, 1889 and was finally opened on March 26, 1893. It stands at 43.6m or 143.04 feet. – Hardbeatnews.com



Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/ne...m-fire#ixzz3sbX8RXqh

FM
Last edited by Former Member

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