In a message to mark fire prevention week which began yesterday, Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan disclosed that this year to date 75 buildings have been destroyed by fire and 17 were severely damaged.
Most of these fires, he said, involved dwelling houses, which resulted in the loss of 24 lives while a number of persons were left homeless. The death toll of 24 includes the 17 prisoners who perished in the Camp Street jail fire in March this year.
“Certainly, these fires have left scars on the lives and the minds of persons affected and by extension their families and communities”, Ramjattan said.
This year, he stated, the Government will invest thirty million dollars to begin the first phase of two New Fire Stations at Melanie Damishana on the East Coast of Demerara and Lethem in Region # 9.
Additionally, eighty three million dollars will be spent acquiring more fire fighting tenders and water bowsers
The Ministry of Public Security, he added, is partnering with the Ministry of Public Health to expand the Emergency Medical Services using a larger fleet of Ambulances and personnel to cover all of Guyana with the First Phase becoming operational in November .
