The burnt-out room at the Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre in St Ann where five wards were killed on May 22. Two wards subsequently died as a result of their injuries. - Contributed

Girls were living in a bathroom at one of the dormitories at the Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre, says a ward who testified at the commission of enquiry yesterday.

The enquiry is being held to investigate what led to a fire at the institution, which left seven wards of the state dead.

The 14-year-old girl said she lived in a section of the cottage dorm called the bathroom dorm at the St Ann facility.

Unlike some of her other colleagues who wept while giving their testimony, the teen burst into a short fit of laughter as she spoke about the bathroom dorm. She said it had two toilets but they did not work properly.

"We would have to use the water to flush it and sometimes it bung up," she said, chuckling and covering her face.

No shower curtains

The ward also said there were two showers in the dorm, a large one with several pipes and a smaller one. However, she revealed that the large shower did not have any curtains, and several girls used it at the same time. "Yuh just walk inside, there is nothing to block off, nothing to hide," she said boldly as she explained that those who lived in the dorm could look at the girls while they were showering or using the toilet.

The ward, who went to Armadale on April 18, said sometimes the bathroom gave off a foul odour, and the lack of shower curtains were a menace to those who lived in the room because of the water.

"It wet up di floor, di place in there easily dirty," she added.

The youngest ward in the dorm said life at Armadale was rough, pointing out that she was stabbed by another ward, but this was not the only problem.

"Sometimes, they used to bag my face and take away my food and if Ms Ferreira is not there, I didn't get any food," she said, adding that the other correctional officers did not care sometimes.

Recommendation

On Day 17, commissioner of the enquiry, Justice Paul Harrison, recommended that the Office of the Children's Advocate examine the case of the 14-year-old ward.

Harrison said something needed to be done immediately about the girl who was put in state care because of "uncontrollable behaviour".

Speaking about the day of the fire, a second ward said she was the one who warned the girls about what a policeman was allegedly doing.

"I saw the policeman went over to the jeep and come back and I say to the girls say him a go fi tear gas and I walk go up to di back window." She said while there, something was thrown into the room and she heard a frying sound and her skin began to burn as the other wards started to cry. The girl, who received burns on her feet, said Caldeen Shaw-Slack pulled her from the building.

She resumes her testimony today at the Council of Voluntary Social Services - National Volunteer Centre in Kingston.

kimesha.walters@gleanerjm.com