A Guyanese teenager transported to a Staten Island hospital has been treated for burn injuries sustained during a dormitory fire in her South American homeland that took the lives of 20 students.
The 13-year-old girl, whose name has not been made public, was flown out of Guyana by an air ambulance on Saturday, May 27, and brought to the Northwell Burn Center at the University Hospital in Staten Island, New York, according to Demerarawaves.com. She was one of the multiple victims harmed by arson at the Region Eight dormitory of Mahdia Secondary School on May 21 around 10:50 p.m.
In total, 19 girls and one 5-year-old boy lost their lives in the fire — a fiery grave set ablaze by a fellow schoolmate after her cellphone was confiscated by officials.
Parkinson John, a man who lives next to the dormitory, was the first person to respond to the fire, risking his life during two trips to save at least eight girls.
“I went over in my underwear alone and tried to save them. On the left side of the building, there was only smoke, so I rush in and try to get them to exit. The smoke had them bad, but I wrap a cloth around my face and run and grab who I can,” John said to reporters.
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John said he would have tried to rescue more girls, but the smoke overwhelmed him, and he had to abort his effort.
Acting Fire Chief Dwayne Scotland said firefighters from the Mahdia Fire Station were called to the school that night, around 11:15 p.m. However, within the four minutes it took to get to the school, the entire edifice was engulfed in flames.
“Immediately, firefighting and rescue operations were initiated. These operations would have rescued not less than 20 students. The operation continued for approximately three and a half hours after which the fire was brought under…
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