Shaheed’s Girls’ Orphanage damaged by fire

A fire of unknown origin broke out in the dressing room of the upper flat of Shaheed’s Girls Orphanage, Oleander Gardens, East Coast Demerara at approximately 11:00h Monday. There were no injuries to staff or the twenty-eight girls, aged three to 16 years.

The orphanage was completely gutted by fire on October 20, 2018.

Monday’s fire was discovered by three of the young girls. They raised an alarm after seeing smoke emanating from the dressing room ceiling. The blaze was quickly contained by the Guyana Fire Service, which is currently investigating how the fire started.

Raheema Rahaman, Chief Executive Officer for the Orphanage, praised the Fire Service’s rapid response, crediting them with saving the building which had been rebuilt from scratch in April 2019.

The building and the girl’s beds and clothes were soaked during the effort to put out the fire.