The two Richard Ishmael Secondary security guards were absent from the compound on Wednesday morning when arsonists attacked the school.

Swift action by firemen saved the Woolford Avenue, Georgetown school from destruction shortly after 3am Wednesday. The attack was part of a pre-dawn wave of attacks during which the Supreme Court Registry was also targeted for arson and two police stations came under heavy gunfire.

Chandroutie Persaud, the school’s head teacher, told Stabroek News yesterday afternoon that hours after the incident the two guards were taken into police custody for questioning. However, it is not clear whether the guards were released.

Persaud said that about 60 percent of students turned out to school yesterday. Students, whose classrooms were damaged by the fire, have already been moved to other locations in the compound. The Ministry of Education, according to Persaud, has already committed to completing repairs at Richard Ishmael as soon as the relevant authorities have completed their investigations at the school.

The two security guards, she explained, were supposed to work from 11 pm Tuesday until 7 am Wednesday. However, Persaud said that persons who arrived at the school shortly after 3am reported that neither guard was present at the location after the alarm was raised about the school being on fire.

“I will not be able to say whether the two guards even showed up for work at their shift,” Persaud said. “The police told me that they didn’t see either guard when they arrived at the scene.”

The guards, according to the head teacher, are attached to Dino’s Security Service. The security firm, she said, is paid by the Ministry of Education to secure Richard Ishmael. Persaud indicated that the two guards will be replaced by the company but opined that the Richard Ishmael compound is “sprawling” and more security should be provided for the school.

There are three eight-hour shifts, she explained, and there is one guard during the day and early night shift but the 11pm to 7am shift has two guards. However, this is insufficient, she stressed.

“We can’t come up with no reason as to why were targeted,” she said. “Teachers turned out in their full numbers, students were informed about what had happened and things are slowly returning to normal.”

Meanwhile, efforts to contact Acting Fire Chief Marlon Gentle yesterday were futile.

Attempts were made at eight locations throughout the school compound to set its buildings on fire. Bottles, suspected to have been used by the perpetrators to transport kerosene, were also discovered throughout the school compound. Richard Ishmael teachers had expressed a belief that the aim was to completely destroy the school.