Dear Editor,
In recent times, our hearts have been collectively heavy. We have watched, yet again, as a family home is reduced to ashes. For too long, Guyana has treated fire as an inevitable disaster to be reacted to, rather than a preventable risk to be managed. We applaud the bravery of our fire service, who rush into danger when the alarm sounds. But courage is not a substitute for prevention. A reactive fire service, no matter how well-equipped, arrives after the damage has begun. The recent cowardly act of what is now deemed terrorism is a stark reminder that by the time the tender arrives, it is often too late to prevent total loss, severe injury, or death.
The current strategy—building more fire stations and buying more trucks—is like placing more ambulances at the bottom of a cliff instead of building a fence at the top. It is an outdated and fundamentally flawed antidote to a 21st-century problem. Our current system is virtually non-existent in its proactive measures. Our national approach is characterized by a profound and dangerous absence of passive fire protection.
What is Passive Fire Protection? These are systems built into the very fabric of our buildings that work automatically, 24/7, without human intervention. They are designed to contain a fire at its source, suppress it, or slow its spread, providing invaluable time for evacuation and for firefighters to arrive.
What We Have Now: Look around. Our new buildings, even multi-story concrete and wooden structures, are erected without automatic sprinkler systems. Our public assembly venues—malls, churches, nightclubs—operate with a pronounced absence of any suppression systems. The gas station where the recent explosion occurred had no built-in suppression system to control the blaze. This is not just an oversight; it is a recipe for catastrophe.
The blame for this untenable situation falls squarely on the failure to enact and enforce modern, life-saving legislation. Successive administrations have neglect-ed their primary duty: to protect citizens from foreseeable harm. We must pivot immediately from a reactive to a proactive fire safety ecosystem. This transformation must be led by the government through the urgent revision of our National Building and Fire Codes. We call for new codes that mandate the integration of passive fire protection systems in all new and significantly renovated buildings, especially:
All Public Assembly Buildings: Schools, hospitals, places of worship, restaurants, and malls.
High-Risk Commercial Faci-lities: Gas stations, industrial plants, warehouses, and commercial kitchens.
Multi-Story Residential and Office Buildings.
Here are the proven, passive systems that must become mandatory. These systems work independently, triggered by heat, smoke, or flame, to give an early and automatic response:
• Automatic Fire Sprinkler Systems: The single most effective passive fire protection system. They can extinguish a fire in its incipient stage, often before the fire service even arrives, preventing total loss. A building with a working sprinkler system is over 90% less likely to result in fatalities.
• Fire Suppression Systems for Special Hazards: For high-risk areas like commercial kitchens, server rooms, and especially gas stations and areas storing propane cylinders, specialized suppression systems that use clean chemical agents or foam are critical. They can automatically detect and suppress flammable liquid and gas fires that water cannot control.
• Siamese Dry Pipe Systems: Installed steel piping network with a main service connection outside the exterior walls of building that facilitates Fire Tenders connection for internal distribution of water.
• Fire-Resistant Rated Con-struction: Mandating the use of fire-resistant materials for walls, floors, and doors (fire compartments) to contain a fire and smoke to its area of origin for a designated period (e.g., 1-2 hours), creating safe evacuation pathways.
• Smoke Detectors and Alarm Systems: Networked systems that provide early warning and automatically alert all occupants and, ideally, the fire department directly.
• Fire Dampers in HVAC Systems: These prevent the spread of smoke and fire through ventilation ducts, which can turn a whole building into a death trap in minutes.
• Emergency Exit Lighting Systems: These illuminate once power is lost, showing occupants the way out, especially effective in smoke filled rooms.
• Firestop Penetration Seals: These are materials used to seal gaps around pipes, cables, and conduits that pass through fire-resistant walls and floors, maintaining the integrity of the fire compartment.
We are at a crossroads. We can continue to mourn losses and praise reactive heroism, or we can choose to prevent the tragedy in the first place.
To the Government and Policy-makers: Your duty is clear. The time for committees and deliberation is over. We demand immediate action to:
Revise the National Building and Fire Codes to mandate the passive fire protection systems outlined above.
Establish a rigorous inspection and certification regime to ensure compliance.
Offer tax incentives or grants to assist existing critical infrastructure, like gas stations, in retrofitting these life-saving systems.
The people’s voice is powerful. Demand safer buildings for our families. Ask the managers of your favourite restaurants and venues about their fire suppression systems. Support businesses that prioritize our safety. Hold our elected officials accountable for enacting these vital reforms. Let us build a “world —class” Guyana that is not only prosperous but also safe. Let us invest in prevention, so we no longer have to count our losses. Let us stop the burns before they start. Remember a “fire today, no home tomorrow”