A firefighter administered CPR to a child who became unresponsive after inhaling smoke during Monday night’s fire at the Children and Family Home in Plum Park, Sophia, the Guyana Fire Service said yesterday.

The incident underlined the danger the children faced in the aftermath of the fire.

All 26 children housed at the facility were evacuated and accounted for, according to Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud.

In a post on its Facebook page, the Fire Service said Leading Fireman Omvindra Persaud noticed that the child was unresponsive and immediately began CPR. The child regained consciousness about two minutes later, and Persaud carried the child to be transported to hospital. The service praised him for his quick action.

In a video posted to the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s Facebook page, Minister Persaud said several children were taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. Some had asthma, one has epilepsy, and others had what she described as minor effects from the fire. Each child was examined and treated, she said, and the children taken to hospital were expected to be discharged later yesterday. The Fire Service had reported on Monday night that nine children suffered smoke inhalation. 

Persaud thanked the home’s caregivers for evacuating the children swiftly. Members of the Childcare and Protection Agency, the Guyana Fire Service, police and members of the public also assisted, she said. The children have since been moved to other care institutions.

“I want to sincerely thank the caregivers of the Child Protection Agency for their swift action,” the minister said. She also thanked firefighters for containing the blaze, which she said affected one building in a complex of buildings. According to the Fire Service, the fire was on the upper floor of the female dormitory. 

The cause has not yet been determined. Persaud said there would be an investigation involving the police.

Turning to fire safety, the minister said the ministry’s buildings were equipped with fire extinguishers, fire balls and other equipment. She acknowledged, however, that fires could spread quickly despite those provisions. She said routine fire drills were conducted at the homes and staff had been trained to respond to emergencies.

The ministry is also working to train staff in first aid and basic life support, she said, and intends to extend crisis management training to more employees. Staff must be able to respond “in a very calm and efficient and effective way” when an emergency occurs, Persaud added.

Some of the children had already been scheduled to be reunited with their families, and those plans would proceed, the minister said. For the others, the agency would continue to assess their individual circumstances and provide schooling, counselling and therapy. She said the experience of a fire could itself be traumatic, so the children would receive additional support for their mental health and psychological needs.

“Our children are safe, and that is what matters to me and to those at the Child Protection Agency,” Persaud said. She added that arrangements were being made to restore the affected space.

The blaze follows a July fire at the privately run Hope Children’s Home at Enmore, East Coast Demerara. Kiskadee Watch reported that all 33 children there escaped, but two children and a caregiver sustained injuries. The children were subsequently placed at different state institutions.

Following the Enmore fire, APNU Member of Parliament Toshana Famey Corlette called for a review of fire safety standards and emergency preparedness at children’s residential facilities, Kiskadee Watch reported.