A ruptured fire-suppression system resulted in flooding at Police Administration Building, Port of Spain, on August 18, damaging human-resource documents, firearm users licence (FUL) files, administrative files and internal memos, which were left irrecoverable.

In a media release on August 18, police said there were series of power outages and fire alarm activations across multiple floors of the building around 12.45 pm. It said the suppression system, designed to safeguard critical records in the event of fire, became the source of damage when its waterline failed.

"Although the affected files were stored in a designated secure room, the flooding rendered many physical records irrecoverable," a media release said.