A small blaze of unknown origin in a barrack room just above the Brickdam Police Station’s armory caused some panic last night.
Some time after 8 pm an alarm was raised by ranks after a fire was somehow started in the room located in the station’s western wing which faces the rear of St Stanislaus College. The Fire Service was contacted and responded immediately, dousing the flames and averting what could have been a catastrophic event.
When Stabroek News visited the area shortly after 8.30 pm there was no visible external damage to the western wing of the Brickdam Police Station and the fire engine had just shut down its activities and was departing the scene.
Stabroek News was unable to contact relevant senior police officials for a comment last night. However, a police source indicated that a carelessly tossed cigarette butt which had not been properly put out or even a problem with the building’s electrical circuit could have resulted in the fire.
“It is against regulation for ranks to smoke in the compound but at this point we will investigate from all angles to determine what caused the fire…had we not been able to contain that small fire then it would’ve been a disaster,” the source said.
Damage to the building, the further source reported, was minimal and contained to the barrack room in which the fire started.
