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Fire destroys Christianburg courthouse
The small building in front of the courthouse was saved
Linden’s oldest functioning landmark, the Christianburg Magistrate’s Court, was early yesterday morning destroyed by fire. Shock and dismay gripped the community as news of the raging conflagration spread, and many persons hurriedly left their homes to get a last glimpse of the historic and imposing wooden edifice before it was reduced to smoldering debris.
The unrelenting inferno, which started sometime shortly before sunrise, rendered the efforts of the local fire service to save the structure, futile. Fortunately, however, the small building in front of the courthouse which was occupied by a young couple and their child was saved.
A source claimed that no guards were around when police arrived at the scene of the fire shortly before 06:00hrs. And the male occupant of the nearby house who only gave his name as Perry said that no one was at home when the fire started, as he and his family had slept elsewhere.
Seeming somewhat reticent, the man said he was just fortunate to ‘come in time’ to remove his personal property from the building. The house which many feared would have suffered the same fate as the courthouse was however unscathed, thanks to the constant dousing with water by the fire tender.
Many persons described the destruction of the courthouse, as a monumental and terrible loss, with the building, apart from housing the local court, also housing the Legal Aid centre, and the probation and welfare offices. The Legal Aid centre was established at the court house in September 2007.
Informed sources revealed that several pieces of office equipment, including computers and printers – estimated in the millions – were lost in the flames.
Meanwhile, an eyewitness Fitzgerald Howard, who was on his way to work, said that after he saw smoke emanating from the building, he went into the compound to check for the guard, but there was no one there.
He immediately attempted to contact the fire service at Linden, but could not get through. He subsequently called Georgetown, and was asked if it was a hoax. The man said he then made his way to the Wismar Police Station to make a report. Howard said that by the time he reached the police station, the fire was already clearly visible from there.
He is of the opinion that if the fire service had responded promptly, instead of more than twenty minutes later, the fire could have been contained before extensive damage was done to the building.
Tragic
Regional Chairman Mortimer Mingo described the fiery destruction of the Christianburg Magistrate’s Court as ‘tragic’. “We’ve lost an edifice that is an icon of Wismar. This is a huge historical loss in Linden generally, but more particularly Wismar/Christianburg, the ‘settlements’ that precipitated Linden.’
Mingo further said that the courthouse was declared a heritage building by the National Trust, and that only last week he was engaged in discussions on its future. He pointed out that in order to help address some of the serious social issues in Linden; his administration was looking at plans to rehabilitate the structure to accommodate a shelter for abused women and children.
The Chairman added that because of the building’s history, his administration had great plans to preserve it. However there were also other plans in place to construct a brand new courthouse next to the Amerindian hostel on Burnham Drive.
According to Mingo, those plans have been ‘in train’ for some time now, and the RDC was earlier this year engaged by the judiciary in the land acquisition process, which has already been completed. He indicated that there has also been provision in this year’s budget to facilitate the project.
Meanwhile, the nearby Christianburg Community Centre has been designated the temporary alternative venue, to facilitate ongoing court proceedings. Court sessions were expected to commence there yesterday.
Residents of Wismar/Christianburg have meanwhile renewed their calls for a fire station to be established on the West Bank, in the wake of this most recent incident.
Brief History
The Magistrate’s Court was one of the first edifices to be erected in the Christianburg community. Built in the year 1803, it was formerly the home of Scotsman, John Patterson and his family, who migrated here and was engaged in logging. Even in those early days, the imposing wooden structure had electrical current supplied to it by the nearby waterwheel, another famous Linden landmark, which harnessed hydropower from the Catabulli Creek.
(Enid Joaquin)
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