Early Morning Fire in Belize City

Fire broke early this morning in Belize City. A plume of smoke enveloped the area of Jones Street in the Lake Independence area as fire erupted at a wooden house. An estranged couple, occupants of the house, was not at home and Fire Department is not ruling out arson in their investigations. It is also known that there was a domestic dispute between the couple.  News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

An overnight fire on Jones Street completely destroyed an elevated wooden structure.  Sometime after three o’clock this morning, police on mobile patrol in the vicinity of Lawrence Avenue happened upon a fire on a nearby street.  While no one was at home at the time of the blaze, it is believed that it may have been a case of arson.  According to police, the torching of the property may have been the result of a fall-out between a man and his common-law wife.  That breakup reportedly led to a domestic confrontation in which one person, said to be the owner of the home, was severely beaten.  He remains hospitalized at the K.H.M.H. and wasn’t around at the time of the fire.  An elderly neighbor was first to discover the next door residence ablaze.

Emmanuel Gabriel

Emmanuel Gabriel, Witness

“I mi inside ah the place and I mi think dah the animal di run pan the cane. So I hear popopopopo. So when I out there, open the back window the big smoke buss ina di house. I noh live too far from which part ih deh, only about forty or fifty feet. So I try to get out now. I got on mi lone brief and go dah di place deh.”

According to Gabriel, the source of the fire is believed to be faulty wiring.  As we mentioned, police have unofficially noted that the home may have been deliberately set on fire.

Emmanuel Gabriel

“I know nobody neva mi deh deh cause dah person left from yah about three yesterday evening. So nobody never mi deh deh.”

Isani Cayetano

“Have you heard anything? Do you know if this fire was deliberately set or as a result of something that was left on?”

Emmanuel Gabriel

“I think dah electrical power. That’s all I could say because of the hours, the timing. It can’t be no set fire because like I tell you, when I mi hear I mi think dah mi di animal dehn di run dah the back of the place there. But dah neva no animal weh mi the run; dah di thing weh mi di pop, pop, pop so dah mi electrical thing. At least that dah how ih mi sound like to me.”

Firefighters would respond to the scene about a half hour later, precisely at four o’clock.  By then however, nothing could have been save.  The structure was fully engulfed and completely devoured.

Isani Cayetano

“Now when you open your back window an you saw that smoke and the blaze, what did you do at that point? Did you try and contact anybody in the area?”

Emmanuel Gabriel

“No, I look fi run outta mi house because of the amount of smoke. You couldn’t stand inside yah. I mi di look fi get out deh.  And when I look, I see you di pass with the camera.”

Isani Cayetano

“Did you see when the police or the fire truck arrived?”

Emmanuel Gabriel

“Yeah the police come first. Then they deh yah bout nearly twelve or fifteen minutes and then the fire truck come.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.