On Monday, the boys' dormitory at President's College burnt down, possibly, it has been said, as a result of an electrical problem. Reports from the school said there was a problem at midnight the previous night, which had warranted an emergency crew visit from the power company. An engineer with Guyana Power and Light Inc said there had been no upgrading of the school's electrical system since it was built in 1985, although there had been an addition to the complex and the installation of computers and attending electrical and electronic equipment. He posited that the system was overloaded and there were likely to be similar incidents if something was not done urgently.
While there is no right time for a fire, this was the worst time for it to have occurred.
President's College has been closed for a week. There has been significant water damage in other areas and there must be need for a mopping-up exercise in order for the students to be housed as comfortably as possible for the rest of the school year. This last term is always the most significant as it is the time when CXC and GCE exams are written as well as tests which will determine whether students move up a grade in the new school year.
However, although government and the Ministry of Education have put measures in place to replace school uniforms and obtain concessions from the CXC with regard to school based assignments, there has been no word on whether or how soon the school's electrical upgrading will be done. The Ministry has also not announced a plan to check on all schools to ensure electrical systems are intact to prevent another such occurrence. And worst of all, no one has even commented on the dangerous feat performed by some 20 boys - dashing into the burning building to retrieve their belongings.
True there were no injuries or fatalities. True some of the boys managed to grab their bags and get out safely. Others were not so fortunate: the smoke was too thick and they had to leave empty-handed. These were all near misses; these boys could easily have become confused by the smoke and unable to find the exits. One wonders where the adults were when these boys were rushing into a building that was already on fire. Are fire drills still done in schools? Or are they revived only during fire-prevention week? Surely we should all be instilling in our children the need to run from, not towards or into a burning building?
Parents protest over and shut down dilapidated school buildings where they fear their children may come to serious harm in order to force the authorities to effect repairs. One hopes that the very serious warning, which Monday's fire at the President's College provided, is heeded by all, and electrical rehabilitation contracts are included in the repairs at schools now being addressed by the Ministry.
There was another near miss at Bourda. That the One-day International cricket match, which pitted the West Indies against England at Bourda on April 18 came off, is a feather in the Guyana Cricket Board's cap; especially since subsequent matches in Trinidad and Grenada have been washed out. The hard-working ground crew have been lauded and dined and fittingly so. However, when the Guyana Cricket Board members stop patting their collective backs, they may want to turn their attention to two potentially dangerous incidents reported last week (SN 21 April, 2004). The article in question dealt with fights and gunplay at Bourda, despite the heightened security. But towards the end of the report mention was made of: (1) a large crowd of people seated on top of the GBTI stand and (2) a bottleneck at the narrow entrance/exit of the Clive Lloyd stand.
Though the police eventually succeeded in getting the spectators off the roof of the GBTI stand, they should not have been allowed to congregate up there in the first place. Had that roof collapsed under their weight, there would have been much more sorrow in Guyana than the loss of the match caused. The cricket board must ensure that this does not occur again.
With regard to the second incident, there was a larger gate which could have been opened to let the crowd out faster at the end of the game. The reason it remained locked is a mystery. What occurred was a convergence of spectators at the exit during which time a fight broke out. The chance of there being a stampede hung in the balance and this was mentioned to a police officer who simply shrugged. But one shudders to think of the outcome of a panicked crowd jostling to get out and people tripping and falling. Most of us are old enough to remember April 15, 1989 when 96 football fans were crushed to death in Hillsborough, South Yorkshire in the UK? Are we labouring under the misconception that it can't happen here? Situations in which danger is even a remote possibility must be avoided at all costs, unless we are seeking notoriety, rather than publicity.