Trinidad: Massive fire destroys St Peter’s Primary School, arson suspected

Trinidad and Tobago: A massive fire early Thursday morning severely damaged the administration block of St Peter’s Primary School located in Pointe-a-Pierre in Trinidad. The fire reportedly destroyed student records, staff files and equipment's and affected at least three-fifth year classrooms. 

Minister of Energy Ernesto Kezar confirmed the incident and said that the blaze was confined to the administrative buildings. He also said that arson is suspected, which means that the fire might have been set maliciously.  

According to him, an investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing and a report is expected within 48 hours from the Chief Fire Personnel. 

“The fire was confined to the admin building. That's where that house is, the principal office and so on,” said Minister Kezar.  

He also lauded the fire service for being very quick in their response and noted, “They were able to move with a certain level of pace as they are accustomed to and they were able to take control of the situation before the fire could have spread to any other part of the school.” 

While talking to Guardian Media, the Minister said that he did not want to speak prematurely about the cause behind the blaze, but he assured that work would be done to reconstruct the building before the beginning of the new school term in Trinidad and Tobago.

Soon after the blaze was reported, a fire brigade with two officers was rushed to the site. They worked to contain the fire as soon as possible, but the administrative block had already sustained significant damage. 

The video of the incident is now making rounds on social media, clearly showing the massive blaze spreading across the building. Locals are also taking to Facebook to express their shock with one saying, “My goodness. How very sad. This school has a great history and heritage.” “An investigation is needed, this was not a random thing,” said another. 

Meanwhile, the principal of St Peter’s Primary School, Georgette Mefford, confirmed that the staff had secured the compound just a day before the fire. She also said that she made multiple requests for a guarded security booth or fencing around the school, but nothing was done. 

Talking about the damage, she said that all the cumulative record cards, staff appraisals and staff files are lost.