“LET me make it absolutely clear. The 55,000 plus firearm files are safe and are unaffected,” said Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro this morning. He lamented however that they have been having issues with their Port of Spain headquarters.

In a recorded statement sent to the media, Guevarro said that he wanted to address comments that he had seen and heard on social media after a burst fire suppression line damaged some items on Monday at the Police Administration Building, Port of Spain on Monday.

Police said that the incident occurred around 12.45 p.m., following a series of power outages and fire alarm activations across multiple floors of the building. As a result of the alarms going off, the entire building was evacuated. Police explained that the “suppression system, designed to safeguard critical records in the event of fire, ironically became the source of damage when its waterline failed.” The items were stored on the sixth floor.