Grenada Today - The National Newspaper of Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinique

Fire officials in Grenada have ruled out electrical malfunctioning as the cause of Tuesday's fire which destroyed a block of the Grenada Boys Secondary School (GBSS). According to reports reaching GRENADA TODAY, the fire began in the Staff Room at about 7:00 a.m. and swept through the entire block which was once used by both students and teachers.

It is reported that the fire gutted the Computer Laboratory, Classrooms, Staff room, and Principal's office. Despite the efforts of Fire Fighters, employees of NAWASA and volunteers to extinguish the blaze, everything inside the building including all school records, furniture, computer equipment, and the building itself were totally destroyed. School Principal Victor Ashby later met with his staff and students who were asked to return home as the burnt section of the school was under police investigation and out of bounds.

In 1993, the GBSS school library was totally destroyed by a major fire. Education Minister Claris Charles, Parliamentary Representative for the Town of St. George, Peter David, as well as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Michael Pierre, and Chief Education Officer, Francis Sookram were seen visiting the school compound. During the visit, Minister Charles meet with teachers and students, to re-assure them of the ministry's support and commitment.

A release from the Prime Minister's Office later in the day indicated that education officials and Ashby, were expected to hold discussions on finding temporary housing for students and staff affected by the fire. Opposition Parliamentarian Peter David who spoke to this newspaper indicated that he was very disturbed by the fire at GBSS especially as the country's education system is still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Ivan in September.

David, a past student of GBSS and a member of the Old Boys Association, said that what is most tragic is that the staff room and the area which housed all the school's records were destroyed. The MP also expressed concern with respect to the impact the fire will have on students who are into the final stages of preparing for their CXC exams. David spoke of plans afoot to call on all old boys and girls, as well as parents and teachers to join forces together to explore all areas of assistance given the fact that rebuilding will require quite a bit of resources.

He stated that Government has been promising for some time now to rebuild the school which is likely to cost millions of dollars. "...We have said time and again that the schools are much more important than the rebuilding of the national stadium, for the long term development of the country", he remarked. Meanwhile, police have denied reports circulating in the country that two students were picked up for questioning in connection with Tuesday's fire at GBSS, labelling it as misleading and baseless.