Guyana issues advisory on possible fires due to grass and garbage

Georgetown, Guyana: The Guyana Fire Service received many fire reports in recent days. They lodged around 23 fire reports on Monday, out of whom 21 reports are related to grass or garbage fire.

One of those fires has been in progress since 12:32 pm yesterday. It was so extreme that it spread across the lumber yard and resulted in millions in losses for its owner. 

The Fire service commits all its resources and consistently works in this direction to ensure that every fire is stamped out and all the threats related to this fire are eliminated.

On Friday, firefighters were in attendance, and they spent more than 10 hours extinguishing, monitoring and containing a wildfire that was purposely set in Rome at East Bank Demerara.

The Guyana Fire Service has given a warning several times; however, some careless citizens continue to ignore the warnings. They are not ready to learn the seriousness of these acts and are putting their lives, businesses, environment and homes at risk.

Grass fires are highly serious and manage to happen quickly, which can easily cause damage to public property, pose a notable risk to the safety of humans and can harm wildlife.

Factors like wind, dry conditions and availability of fuel (dry grass) can cause more fire and make it particularly dangerous.

Effects of Grass fires

The Grass fires can result in several effects on habitats and wildlife, such as,

– Grass fires usually create such type of habitat, which is surrounded by shrubs and grasses. 

– Due to the loss of important food and habitat as they are burned in the fire, they cause wildlife mortalities.

– Of course, fire can be dangerous to plants as well as animals that can’t outrun it.

– Ecosystem succession and the change in biodiversity, which are linked with the grassland fires, are significant for the patterns as well as dynamics of ecosystem functioning along with the services.

The biggest effect fire has on wildlife is the change in their habitats, as wildlife habitats like forests are dynamic in nature. They usually respond to disturbances, as do other natural systems.

Guyana Fire Services advises people to take precautions to prevent grass fire and should respond immediately if one occurs.

There should be proper equipment in homes and businesses with smoke and fire alarms, sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers.

One should be vigilant and keep an eye out for garbage and grass fires in their areas.