Weeks after fires suspected to be arson were committed on two shipping corporations located on Lombard Street in Georgetown, Commissioner of Police (ag) Nigel Hoppie said an “after action review” is ongoing.
A massive fire destroyed the Laparkan and Tropical Shipping bonds at the Guyana National Industrial Company (GNIC) wharf on January 16. Millions of dollars in vehicles and other imported items were destroyed.
Two weeks later on January 30, a fire completely destroyed a workshop at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC) wharf.
Fire Chief (ag) Gregory Wickham later revealed that both fires were maliciously set.
The Fire Chief could not, however, state what the findings were that led investigators to conclude that the fires were maliciously set. He also did not say what was used to set the fires.
“The information given by the Fire Chief was submitted to the competent authority and an after action review is currently being conducted,” Commissioner Hoppie told the News Room on the side-lines of an event on Thursday.
An after action review is a structured review or de-brief to analyse what happened at an event, programme or project.
The fire at the GNIC wharf started just before midnight on January 16 on the northern side of the Laparkan bond.
A total of 11 vehicles were destroyed, five were severely damaged and three others were slightly damaged. The majority of the vehicles were bought by private citizens.
But the company has since challenged the assertion that the fire was arson.
In a statement GNIC said, there has been no conclusive evidence of an alleged arson.
Meanwhile, the fire at the GNSC wharf reportedly started at around 08:20hrs in the corporation’s central workshop. Though this workshop was gutted, numerous firefighters at the scene managed to keep the blaze from spreading.
