Electrical faults and the theft of electricity have emerged as major causes of the more than 2,200 fires recorded in 2025, according to Fire Chief Gregory Wickham.
According to figures provided to the News Room, the Guyana Fire Service received 2,267 fire calls in 2025.
This represents a decrease of almost 1200 fires than those recorded in 2024. To be exact, in 2024, 3,461 fire calls were received.
Fire-related deaths also declined year-on-year, falling from 20 deaths in 2024 to 17 in 2025.
In an interview with the News Room on Friday, Fire Chief Wickham said investigations has revealed that there has been an increase in electrical fires, particularly those linked to unsafe internal wiring practices.
He noted that many incidents were caused by overloaded electrical circuits and illegal power connections.
“We have seen lots of fires coming out from fires of an electrical nature, not external electrical nature, more internal.
“We have seen more persons overloading electrical circuits, stealing electricity in actual terms, so that jumps out as one of the areas where we have seen a significant rise as the cause of fire,” Wickham told the News Room.
The Fire Chief warned that electricity theft poses a severe risk to lives and property, urging those involved to desist.
“For those in the habit of stealing electricity, you should desist. It is illegal and it has caused many people their properties and some people their lives,” he cautioned.
Additionally, Wickham said the Fire Service also responded to several incidents where fires were deliberately set, particularly during unsafe waste-burning activities. In many cases, individuals lit fires to dispose of garbage but left them unattended, allowing flames to spread to nearby structures.
“We have also seen fires deliberately set by persons that resulted in destruction of properties,” Wickham said. Therefore, Wickham is urging residents to closely supervise any use of fire.
Acknowledging its strides, Wickham said this is as a result of direct community engagements and public education.
He explained that firefighters went beyond emergency response, focusing instead on prevention and preparedness
This, Wickham said, has resulted in a noticeable shift in public behaviour, with many householders now able to safely extinguish small fires before they escalate into major incidents.
“The amount of fires we would have responded to and had no reason to go into firefighting shows there is a direct benefit from us going into these communities and engaging persons,” Wickham said.
As the Guyana Fire Service continues its prevention drive, the Fire Chief is urging citizens to equip their homes with basic firefighting and early-warning devices, including fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and fire alarms.
“We implore persons to ensure that you have the first-aid firefighting appliance in your home,” Wickham said, stressing the financial and safety benefits of preparedness.
“One fire extinguisher can save a whole lot of millions of dollars,” he said.
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