Bartica school dorm fire cost put at $13M

Around $13M went up in flames on Saturday night when the boys’ dormitory of the Bartica Secondary School went up in flames, Regional Chairman of Region Seven Holbert Knights said yesterday.

And Knights also told Stabroek News that contrary to what the police said in a release no library was destroyed in the fire. He said the school’s library is in the main school building which is located some distance away from the dormitory.

According to the regional chairman, there was a small room in the dormitory where some books were stored, and it was in that section the fire started. He said the building cost $10 million, while fixtures and other articles in the building including items lost by the students would have amounted to another $3 million.

Knights also stated that no bucket brigade was formed. A resident of Bartica had told this newspaper that a bucket brigade was formed which resulted in the school’s main building and the girl’s dormitory being saved.

Knights said the main building of the school is located very far from the dorm and the girls’ dormitory is also some distance away. He said the boys’ dormitory was located some distance away from the main road and was actually behind the girls’ dormitory, which is much bigger.

He said by the time people got to the location the building was almost consumed.

The regional chairman said most of the 26 boys who were housed in that one flat building were unable to save any of their belongings and the regional administration along with Minister within the Ministry of Education, Dr Desrey Fox who was visiting the township at the time, bought new school uniforms and clothing for the boys on Sunday. They are now housed in the girls’ dormitory, which Knights said is large enough to accommodate them.

And while no cause for the fire has been established Knights said after the building was destroyed they observed that there was evidence of a separate fire not far from the location where the fire started in the building. He said there was wood shaving and piece of burnt mattress among other items but none of the boys admitted lighting that fire.

Since Bartica does not have a fire station, Knights said, they are awaiting the arrival of fire officers from the city to investigate the origin of the fire.