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.”
The government has since committed to supporting efforts to relocate the children, with those displaced already being moved to alternative state care facilities.
Children out
Meanwhile, when the PM visited the hospital, one senior official at the home recalled the terrifying moments after the fire broke out. “When I saw the smoke, we tried to get all the children out. Nobody was injured during the evacuation. We even tried breaking down the gate to get the children out from the back.”
Another hero of the day was Kenneth Finlayson, the director of the home, whose quick thinking and decisive actions ensured every child was safely evacuated. Recalling the ordeal, Finlayson said, “We had a group of Americans helping us [in the VBS]. Children were in classrooms, while others were outside in the yard. I had just left the boys’ dormitory and gone over to the church when someone shouted that there was a fire. As soon as I heard that, I rushed to all the classrooms, telling everyone to get the children out. The team of volunteers and our staff immediately grabbed the children, and we also had children from the community attending the Vacation Bible School.” He said everyone was safely evacuated onto the public road before he returned to disconnect the building’s electricity.
Finlayson stressed that there was no indication the fire was caused by an electrical fault, noting that the GFS had only recently conducted an inspection of the home and issued it with a fire safety certificate. He explained that the building was equipped with fire extinguishers, which staff immediately used in an attempt to contain the blaze. He also noted that the smoke detectors and fire alarm system activated as designed, having been inspected during the recent assessment.
No lives were lost
Reflecting on the history of the Hope Children’s Home, Finlayson expressed gratitude that no lives were lost, stressing that while buildings can be rebuilt, lives cannot be replaced. He noted that since the home was established in 2001, more than 300 children have passed through its doors, with many beginning a new chapter of their lives there. Although saddened that part of the facility the children called home had been destroyed, he remained hopeful, pointing to an expansion project on the property that has been under construction since 2007.
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