Some 11 persons died last this year as a result of fires, and another 405 were left homeless, Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee has said.

Rohee told reporters at his end-of-year press briefing in December that the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) responded to 1,245 reports of fire, which also saw 315 buildings being affected.

Rohee said, too, that the GFS was able to embark on a number of activities aimed at improving the quality of service provided to the public. It was noted that for many years there has been a number of complaints about firemen responding to fires with no water and battling huge flames with defective hoses.

However, Rohee listed the positives of the service which include the advancement of the construction of the Bartica fire station, the completion of major repairs to the stations at Leonora and Timehri, and the procurement of equipment including fire tenders and communication equipment.

Four firemen were also trained in Trinidad in the area of chemical weapons and hazardous material while another four went to Suriname and were trained in the area of first aid.

The GFS, according to the minister, will continue to face the challenge of inadequate fire-fighting appliances, the distance of fire scenes from the stations and the strong suspicion that persons have been using fires to settle scores.
He said these matters are being addressed by the government.