By
Iana
Seales |
Saturday,
July 18, 2009
A huge fire sparked by channa
bombs completely destroyed the
Ministry of Health’s main
building at Brickdam and an
annex early yesterday morning,
devouring decades-old records,
vehicles and a string of key
divisions in a major blow to the
health sector.
The raging inferno erupted
some time before 3 am and
rumbled on for three hours amid
a downpour and a valiant
campaign by the Guyana Fire
Service to save three buildings
in the ministry’s southern
wing and its immediate neighbour,
the Guyana Geology and Mines
Commission (GGMC).
The conflagration levelled the
offices of two ministers,
permanent secretary, chief
medical officer and
administrative staff, the
Registry, Disease Control Unit,
Adolescent Health Unit, Tobacco
Control Unit, Standards
Department and a section of the
Accounts Department in ruins.
The Ministry of Health
maintained records for health
professionals and from health
centres across the country. It
was also housing some records
for the Georgetown Public
Hospital Corporation. However, a
portion of the records destroyed
were computerized and can be
retrieved from a back-up system
which was saved.
The police in a statement last
night said that patrols arrived
at the scene at about five
minutes after a report had been
made to 911 and saw the top flat
of the main building engulfed in
flames.
Fire
ripping away at the main
building at the Ministry of
Health and an annex. (Photograph
by Brenon Sookram)
“On checking around the
compound they discovered a large
bottle along with what smelt
like a flammable substance with
channa and a wick. Further
checks were made around the
compound and two security guards
were seen. They alleged that
they saw smoke at the top flat
of the building and raised an
alarm. A third guard was later
found at the Hadfield Street
entrance and he alleged that he
had gone to release vehicles
from the compound into Hadfield
Street.
“The main building was
extensively burnt, also four
vehicles in the compound were
damaged. A room in a building
south east of the main building
was scorched. The louvre windows
were discovered damaged and
pieces of glass and channa were
found on the inside and outside
of the building.
A
distressed Dr. Leslie Ramsammy,
Minister of Health surveying
the scene yesterday morning.
(Photo
by Brenon Sookram)
“Several items inside the
room such as condoms and medical
equipment were damaged. The
damage was not caused by the
fire emanating from the main
building. In fact the fire from
the main building never reached
that building.
“A further search of the
compound unearthed a bag with
two complete bottles with a
suspected flammable substance,
wicks and channa and three
broken bottles with channa.
“Up to this afternoon fire
service personnel and police
ranks were still combing the
scene”, the police said.
Two of the buildings spared
were handed over to the ministry
for use but a third is still
under investigation after an
explosive device was linked to
the building.
Questions have since been raised
about security and where exactly
the security officers on duty
were at the time of the alleged
attack. There are also concerns
as to the reaction time of the
officers and how soon the fire
service was alerted.
Health Minister Dr Leslie
Ramsammy seemed assured
yesterday that after the police
completed their investigative
work it would be found that
there had been security
breaches. He said security has
always been a problem for the
ministry, adding that only
recently a new firm had been
contracted.
He said the health sector is
often at the centre of threats
whenever there is unrest
in the country adding that
whenever there is protest action
people would pass and throw
remarks such as, “you’re
next” in reference to the
ministry. But there had been no
such threats in the past few
months, he said.
According to the minister, if
the ministry was directly
targeted, “it is sad and
despicable” because the
ministry does not belong to a
political party or one group.
The
Ministry of Health building on
Brickdam alight early
yesterday morning shortly
after flames erupted in the
upper flat. (Iana
Seales photo)
Ramsammy declared that the
Ministry of Health is the
property of the people of Guyana
and that it serves a public
good, and he questioned why
anyone would want to make that
ministry a target or any other
ministry.
“Why this ministry? Why the
Ministry of Housing or why any
building?” he asked yesterday
recalling that a fire had also
destroyed the housing ministry
on Homestretch Avenue a few
years ago.
He also dismissed questions
pointing to recent allegations
surrounding him saying that
there can be no possible link to
the fire.
“Let us not go stretching and
looking for a story that is not
there. It is an absurd story…
I am done with that,” the
minister said.
Ramsammy called the press
conference at the National AIDS
Programme Secretariat (NAPS) to
say that the work of his
ministry continues. He said the
ministry is not intimidated and
was focused on being fully
operational again by next
Monday.
No chance
It is unclear at what time
the fire service was alerted
about the fire but when the
first tender arrived at the
scene the ministry was already
engulfed in flames and “well
on its way” to burning flat,
according to a fireman at the
scene. He said that the ministry
had no chance of surviving the
blaze even with the greatest of
efforts.
Deputy Fire Chief Winston
McGregor in an interview at the
scene told reporters that the
first of five fire tenders
deployed to the scene started
rolling from the central base
within seconds of the call, but
turned up and met a building
well ablaze.
However, he said the fire
service’s operational strategy
was put in place to contain the
blaze, adding that firemen
fought hard to reduce the
damage.
McGregror told reporters at the
scene that the fire service
would have been able to do much more in terms of a
response had it been notified
earlier.
A
view of the eastern section of
the Ministry of Health as it
burned yesterday morning. (Iana
Seales photo)
“The men worked well,” he
said while noting that his
comments can be termed as
subjective.
A flaming early morning sky
and thick smoke covered the
upper half of Brickdam at around
3:15 am when Stabroek News
arrived on the scene. The fire
service was already in
firefighting mode and had
surrounded the ministry using
Brickdam and Hadfield streets.
Brickdam and its environs were
blanketed in darkness following
a power cut, illuminated only by
the fire gutting the building.
An intense heat drove back
curious onlookers, barring
anyone from proceeding beyond
the Independence Arch at the
head of Brickdam yet a handful
of determined residents pressed
forward to get a closer look.
The old wooden superstructure
of the ministry started to
disintegrate within some 30
minutes of the fire; the eastern
section caved in first. It was
about 3:40 am when the eastern
section housing Ramsammy’s
office among others collapsed.
With manpower of close to 50 and
generators pumping water from
the Brickdam and Hadfield Street
drains, the fire service moved
swiftly and after an hour was
able to reduce the threat to
neighbouring buildings and the
southern wing.
Residents eager to assist
charged into the ministry’s
compound from the Hadfield
Street gate and jumped right
into fire-fighting mode. Other
residents realized that the
vehicles in the compound were at
risk and immediately started a
mad rush to save them.
The scene was a chaotic one as
employees of the ministry who
had gathered at the scene and
residents in the area rushed to
clear the compound of vehicles.
Keys which are usually stored at
the security hut in the compound
were missing, forcing the staff
to push several vehicles out of
the compound.
Ramsammy yesterday confirmed
that the ministry had lost three
fairly new vehicles assigned to
the National Blood Transfusion
Service, which were in the
western section of the compound,
but he said they managed to save
50 other vehicles.
Emotional
Ramsammy gave a brief
interview at 4:10 am when the
fire had already destroyed the
main and annex buildings. He
told reporters that it was
difficult to watch the buildings
go down and feel helpless at the
same time.
He recalled leaving the office
at 10 pm on Thursday along with
his driver and two secretaries
only to receive a call later
that the ministry was burning.
Since he was the last
employee at the ministry to
leave Ramsammy has been asked to
provide a statement to the
police. He said yesterday that
his driver and his two
secretaries would also give
statements.
“I wish I was there, but
don’t know what I would have
done anyway,” Ramsammy said
shrugging his shoulders. He was
being comforted every few
minutes by staff and colleague
ministers who arrived on the
scene as the word spread.
Public Service Minister Dr
Jennifer Westford was among the
first to show up followed by
Human Services Minister Priya
Manickchand. Some time after
Home Affairs Minister Clement
Rohee and Culture Minister Dr
Frank Anthony turned up.
Ramsammy appeared to have been
doing okay though he looked
distressed, but shortly after
during another on-the-spot
interview with reporters he
broke down.
Teary-eyed and visibly
emotional Ramsammy pointed to
the burning building and said,
“My life’s work is in there.
A lifetime of work is in
there”. He referred to the
fire as a significant setback,
but vowed that the ministry’s
work “must continue”.
Shaking his head and with his
eyes lowered the minister called
the fire a tragedy saying that
its impact is devastating. He
noted he had been minister of
health for ten years.
The Health Ministry was one of
the few surviving structures
considered part of the national
heritage of the country. The
building had once housed
Queen’s College.
Support
Ramsammy mentioned that he
had received a tremendous amount
of support within hours of the
fire saying that everyone seemed
genuinely affected. He said
yesterday that the staff of the
ministry has been “focused and
committed to the process of
moving forward” from the
minute they realized that the
ministry was no more.
Firefighters
and residents pushing a
vehicle to safety from the
Ministry of Health compound
while the fire raged early
yesterday morning. (Photo
by Brenon Sookram)
He said he had received calls
from donor partners and
technical partners in and
outside the country.
Specifically, he noted that he
received calls from Dr Margaret
Chan, Director General of the
World Health Organisation and
Michel Sidibé, Executive
Director of UNAIDS.
He said too that telephone calls
also came from colleague
ministers in the Caribbean all
expressing solidarity. Ramsammy
said that he was moved by the
support, but he was particularly
touched when ordinary citizens
made contact to say how affected
they were.
At the press briefing, he
disclosed that he was meeting
with technical and donor
partners in the afternoon to
discuss a way forward and to
“begin the work of rebuilding
the ministry of health”.
‘I saw smoke’
Stabroek News spoke with one
of the security officers on duty
at the time and the woman
recalled seeing smoke some time
after 2 am coming from the top
flat of the building. She was at
the security hut at the main
entrance of the ministry and
according to her, no flames were
visible at that time.
“I only see smoke; so I call
the base and tell them call the
fire service,” she recounted.
She was a bit flustered but
related that two other security
personnel were at the back of
the building making routine
checks when the fire broke out.
According to her, efforts to
locate the other officers later
proved futile.
However, at his press conference
Ramsammy said there were only
two security guards. He could
not say if the guards had also
been questioned by the police.
Some
of the unexploded channa bombs
retrieved in the compound of
the Ministry of Health.
(Police
photo)
The woman insisted that she
saw nothing strange on Brickdam
saying that she had no idea what
the other security officers saw
while making checks at the back.
She was unable to say how soon
the fire service arrived after
she contacted her security base.
The People’s Progressive Party
(PPP) released a statement
yesterday saying that it was
saddened by the destruction of
the building and concerned at
the initial evidence that
pointed to the work of arsonists
and terrorists.
The party said the building was
one of the nation’s beautiful
pieces of architectural heritage
and called on the security
forces to thoroughly investigate
the incident and bring the
perpetrator/s to justice.
Additionally, the party said
that the fire has coincided with
“attempts by some fringe
elements to try to heat up the
political situation.
“The demonstrations and
provocations of the police were
no doubt deliberate to court
arrest in the hope of gaining
support. It appears to have been
intentionally designed to create
an atmosphere for arson and
terrorism in the society,” the
statement said.
Meanwhile Opposition Leader
Robert Corbin speaking yesterday
on the incident said the nation
could ill afford such
destruction at this time.
Speaking at the People’s
National Congress Reform (PNCR)
weekly press briefing, Corbin
told reporters that he was
unaware of the origin of the
fire, but noted that other
mysterious fires had haunted
other government buildings and
ministries over the years.
He also expressed hope that the
fire is investigated thoroughly.