Fingers pointed over decrepit fire hydrants
- only one in six working
Stabroek News
December 28, 2003
The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) each say the other is responsible for defective hydrants. But while they squabble, businessmen have suffered losses in two major fires over the last six weeks.
On November 13, when a fire caused by a falling utility pole destroyed Royal Castle, Mohamed's Enterprise and Auto Supplies Co, none of the hydrants in the Lombard St area had been working and the GFS had to source water from the Demerara River.
Last Friday, another serious fire destroyed Munesh-wers Ltd building and the businesses in it, although that fire appeared better managed.
Fire Chief Carlyle Washington showed Stabroek News a map of the city in which all of the fire hydrants were displayed. On the map, the symbols representing the non-working hydrants outnumbered the working ones. In his submission to the Disciplined Forces Commis-sion, Washington said that about 100 of the city's hydrants worked while 500 did not.
He said that this map was given to the GFS by the Guyana Water Inc.
Andrew Barber, a GWI executive, told Stabroek News that the GWI has no mandate for the maintenance of fire hydrants and that there is nothing in the law which states that the GWI is responsible for hydrants.
But the fire service is adamant that it is the water utility that is answerable if the units do not function.
He said that the fire service is mandated to check the hydrants and send a report of its findings to the GWI.
Barber told Stabroek News that although the GWI is not the responsible body for the fire hydrants, he went himself to the scene of the Lombard Street fire the following Sunday and found that six of them were in working order.
In a statement just after the Lombard Street fire, Managing Director of GWI, Derek Hodson, told Stabroek News that the activities of vandals had made the use of the hydrants difficult and considerable cleaning was necessary before they could have been used.
In addition, he said that tests done subsequent to the fire revealed that six of the hydrants were in working order while one of them was damaged, having been hit by a vehicle.
The hydrants around the Lombard St blaze were not in operation at the time Stabroek News visited the fire.
Barber said that he welcomed the initiative of the Minister of Housing and Water, Shaik Baksh, to bring stakeholders together to address the issue. He said that this was in the absence of direct action by the GFS.
In a written statement to Stabroek News, Barber said that GWI had sought legal advice on the issue and said that the Water and Sewerage Act had no requirements for the GWI to provide or maintain fire hydrants.
Assistant Public Relations Officer of GWI Javin Singh told Stabroek News that the responsibility for the hydrants lies with the Guyana fire service. "We simply assist the fire service with the hydrants," Singh said.
Section 12 (2) (d) of the Fire Service Act states that at the close of the financial year, or as often as is required by the Minister of Home Affairs, the Chief Fire Officer is to report to the minister in writing the condition of the stations, hydrants, hoses, vehicles, fire-boats, fire-engines, and all other fire equipment and property under his charge.
Upon checking the Water and Sewerage Act, Stabroek News did not find any section which states that the GWI has fire-fighting as its mandate. In fact, there is no mention at all of the words 'fire' or 'hydrant' in that legislation. (Johann Earle and Christopher Yaw)