A fire at the Ramada Hotel & Casino in Guyana over the weekend caused considerable damage but, fortunately, no loss of life. The hotel was reportedly filled to capacity at the time and, with the exception of one guest, only minor injuries were reported.
Guyana, a South American country bordering Brazil, Venezuela and others, is currently hosting The Hero Caribbean Premier League semifinals and finals playoffs. At the same time, it is celebrating its second annual Cricket Carnival.
As a result, due to the influx of tourists, hotels and accommodations are almost all full. Where this could often be a recipe for disaster, Guyana showed fast reflexes in responding to and extinguishing the blaze.
Quick Response Saves Lives
The fire reportedly starting just before 11 p.m. Saturday, according to media outlet Stabroek News, with guests by the pool reporting signs of smoke coming from one of the hotel rooms on the fourth floor of the six-story building. As the staff called emergency services, everyone started evacuating the property.
Some of the guests – the hotel reportedly had 293 adults and four children staying there on Saturday – had to slide down makeshift ropes made from bed sheets. Others weren’t able to find an escape route, and became trapped on the sixth floor.
Guayana’s emergency services arrived within 10 minutes of receiving the call, bringing 28 firefighters, five firetrucks and ambulances to the scene. Within an hour, they had extinguished the blaze and, with the help of a hydraulic lift belonging to the fire department, rescued the trapped guests.
The fire apparently started in room 431, according to the preliminary investigation. It then spread to rooms 433 and 435, leaving nothing but charred and blackened shells behind.
The photos that have already surfaced show how much damage the fire caused. Other areas around the rooms were also rendered uninhabitable.
Paramedics took one guest to a hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. The unidentified person was the only one who received any type of injuries during the chaos.
Ramada, Home to Princess Casino
The hotel houses the Guyana Princess Casino, one of 28 the casino operator Princess International owns in Latin America, Oceania and Europe. Located in the country’s capital city, Georgetown, it has 15 gaming tables and 276 slots, according to its website.
The casino has been operational for about 13 years, almost always without incident. One exception, however, was when three people allegedly robbed it in 2017. They reportedly got away with $9 million, but the police caught up with them shortly after the heist.
The three accused of the casino robbery, Wayne Griffith, Andre Blackman and Junior Stuart, stood trial the following year. Despite video surveillance, the case against Blackman and Stuart was tossed for lack of evidence. Griffith received a 60-month prison sentence.
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