Firearm applications safe after alarm mishap, says CoP

Senior Reporter

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Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro says all the files of applicants for firearm users licenses were not destroyed after the fire suppression system at the Police Administration Building malfunctioned on Monday.

In a voice note sent yesterday morning, Guevarro assured the files were not damaged as was rumoured. He said Monday’s incident affected human resource documents, administrative records, internal memos, and just some firearm files.

“The 55,000 plus firearm files are safe and are unaffected. They are securely housed at the Firearms Permit Unit. The only files, and I will stress the only firearm files affected were those brought to my office for weekly adjudication. So, there’s no need for panic. Your applications are safe.”

He said the police were currently reviewing the damaged documents to determine what can be salvaged. He said the police were reaching out to affected applicants to reconcile their files. He adds that the most concerning thing about the issue is the condition of the building.

“It’s the systemic issues with this building. These problems are not new. They have been affecting the smooth running of our organisation for far too long and now they are actually starting to compromise our ability to serve the public in an efficient and effective manner.”

He said steps were now being taken to accelerate the digitisation processes “to ensure that no matter what happens to the physical infrastructure, our operations remain resilient.”

Guevarro added that the issues stemmed from as far back as February. He said during a police media briefing, the fire alarm was activated due to ongoing repair works, specifically a faulty electrical breaker. This, he said, led to the building being evacuated, much like what took place on Monday.

“This building has been plagued by electrical issues for quite some time. It’s not a modern facility. We are operating with just one elevator. The central air conditioning system does not function in most areas. And something as simple as staff using microwaves during lunch breaks causes low voltage problems. Just this past Sunday, we had a full shutdown from 7 am to 7 pm while T&TEC worked to resolve that situation.”

In a media release on Monday, the police said the incident occurred around 12.45 pm on the sixth floor of the building, following a series of power outages and fire alarm activations across multiple levels. The suppression system, intended to protect critical records in the event of a fire, instead caused flooding when a waterline ruptured.