With ferocious heat closing in and flames rapidly consuming the building, 33 children were forced to run for their lives from the Hope Children’s Home on Friday morning. Built in 2001 as a place of refuge and hope for vulnerable children, the privately run Hope Children’s Home at Enmore, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was reduced to ruins in just over an hour after a fire of unknown origin tore through the facility. The fire started at around 11:00h in the boys’ dormitory. All 33 children residing at the orphanage, 15 girls and 18 boys, along with about seven staff members, escaped safely. Three children, however, sustained minor injuries and were taken to the Enmore Regional Hospital for treatment. At the time of the fire, the children were attending Vacation Bible School in the compound.

Fire Chief Gregory Wickham said the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) responded immediately after receiving reports of the blaze. “We received the call and dispatched five fire tenders to this location. Additional protocols were immediately activated, and the remaining tenders were deployed. All the children and staff who were in the building were evacuated safely; one of the children was traumatised by the incident, but our firefighters managed to prevent the fire from spreading. At the conclusion of the firefighting operation, we will be able to provide more information on the layout of the building and the ongoing investigation.”

Prime Minister (PM) Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, who is performing the functions of president, also visited the scene, where he outlined the government’s next steps to assist those affected. “We took immediate action that resulted in saving lives. Everyone who was in that building is now out of danger because of the swift actions taken. The Human Services Ministry has already provided transportation and relocated the children to the Mahaica Children’s Home. The next step, of course, will be the investigation to determine the cause of the fire. But I want to end by saying that everyone is alive.”