The Commission of Inquiry (COI) that investigated the tragic fire at the Mahdia Secondary School’s female dormitory on May 21, 2023, characterized the Mahdia Fire Station as “unequipped and ill-prepared” in their report that is now public.
The CoI led by Major General (Ret’d) Joe Singh, with members Attorney-at-Law Joycelin Kim Kyte-Thomas, and Derrick John, Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), reported that the fire station lacked trained officers and relied on volunteer “auxiliary firefighters” with no formal training.
Despite being commissioned in 2017, the fire station faced several challenges to properly execute their work. In July 2022, Sub-Officer Ryan Scott was appointed to head the station. Scott reported urgent equipment issues, including a damaged fire tender, lack of essential tools, and requests for necessary firefighting equipment. However, his requests went unanswered, leaving the Mahdia Fire Station ill-equipped to respond effectively to emergencies.
Notably, the female dormitory was deemed high-risk following an inspection of the building conducted three months before the tragedy. The dormitory housed about 59 girls in six bedrooms but had only one fire extinguisher. Additionally, there was no water hydrants near the facility.
Around 23:12 hours on May 21, 2023, the fire station was alerted of the fire. Scott and other firefighters rushed to the scene, finding the female dorm fully engulfed in flames; about 80% red flames (combustible material) and 10% blue flames (flammable substance).
Scott led efforts to rescue students, breaching a wall to access room two. However, by that time the fire tender with a capacity of 450 gallons, ran out of water within three-minutes. Sub-Officer Scott had to leave the scene in search of the nearest water source, which was identified about 2 miles from the fire. In the meantime, the auxiliary officers utilize hose equipment and a mobile pump to source water from nearby drains.
The fire was extinguished around 03:00 hours on Monday May 22, 2023. A search of the building was conducted where several bodies burnt beyond recognition were discovered.
Following the events of May 21, 2023, a comprehensive After-Action Report was submitted by the Sub-Officer to the Chief Fire Officer. The report highlighted challenges encountered during the response, including difficulties gaining access, issues with the fire tender, lack of water sources, inadequate equipment, and limited personnel.
The Commissioners also acknowledged the efforts of the duty officers and auxiliary firefighters given the circumstances they were confronted with.
“Be this as it may, we cannot close our eyes to the fact that the Mahdia Fire Station, due to poor leadership at the highest level of the Guyana Fire Service, was unequipped and ill-prepared to provide an effective response to the fire at the dormitory,” the Commissioners said.
They added that the non-provision of essential tools of trade for effective firefighting, especially where there are systems in place to access resources, is unacceptable and inexcusable.
“We are convinced that the state of affairs at Madhia Fire Station was the direct result of poor leadership of the Fire Service and lack of initiative,” it was further stated.
It should be noted that the Commissioners have concluded that arson was the cause of the fire. A teen girl is presently on remand in relation to the death of the 20 children.
