A well-known employee of Pou’s Meat Pie here in Belize City lost his life overnight when the building he was renting on Gibnut Street went up in flames. The incident happened shortly before the blackout on Wednesday night. Phillip Cattouse had just returned home and was talking to his landlady about lighting a candle inside his apartment before turning in for the night. Before long the wooden structure was engulfed in flames and when the fire was extinguished, firemen discovered his charred remains among the debris. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano with our first story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
A house fire in Belize City on Wednesday night claimed the life of fifty-one-year-old Philip Cattouse, otherwise known as Cutty, who was renting an apartment on Gibnut Street. The deadly blaze also destroyed several wooden structures on the property, leaving other tenants displaced in the wake of the incident. The landlady was inside her home, a concrete bungalow adjacent to the rooms, when she was alerted to the fire next door. Distraught from what she experienced, the elderly woman spoke with News Five off camera.
Voice of: Landlady
“He came home, look like he was vex and he was railing up, cussing up and thing and I came out and I asked him what he’s railing up for, right. So he said he’s trying to light a candle. So I tell, “Noh light no candle.” I seh, “from I live ya eena dis house”, ih seh, “a neva light no candle.” Ih she a just di try light wahn candle and I tell ahn noh light di candle. Ih seh yes, he still wahn try light di candle and I mi di give ahn wahn light, wahn charging light and he seh he noh want that.”
According to the property-owner, Cattouse then retired to his room. It wasn’t until she heard a shuffling from the neighboring apartment that she came out to inquire.
“I came in thinking he was going to out the candle. I came in and I lay down a little bit and like I hear, you know, like movements out yah. So when I came out, I saw the door open and it was like, ih look like ih mi di try open di door. Ih couldn’t get out so ih try open di door. When I sih dat, I seh well ih mussi come out because I sih di door open. But after that, I neva sih ahn again, yoh know. So I couldn’t believe that ih mi deh een deh, you know, trapped eena di fire, you know.”
Cattouse recently relocated to that apartment in December of last year and befriended his landlady and her children. The overnight fire completely damaged the wooden structure. The National Fire Service responded to the call and proceeded to extinguish the fire.
On the Phone: Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor, National Fire Service
“Tragedy struck last night when Mr. Phillip Cattouse, fifty-one years old, died as a result of a fire. A very unfortunate scenario went down last night whereby it left neighbors, it left the fire department baffled as to try and figure out exactly what Mr. Cattouse could have done to cause his little cabin, his little palace to go up in flames, claiming his life. [From] what we gathered, we know that the fourteen-by-twenty-four structure that was divided into three eight-foot compartments. Mr. Cattouse occupied the first of the three structures, that was where the fire started.”
This afternoon, Station Supervisor Kenneth Mortis told News Five that the fire began shortly before the blackout that blanketed the city last night.
On the Phone: Kenneth Mortis
“We know that the fire actually occurred before the shortage of electricity happened. That was roughly two minutes to eleven [o’clock]. He had retired from work and after probably socializing, having some beverages, he probably had one too many whereby it was reported that he was using a candle as a means of light and somehow he apparently fell asleep with this candle burning. The curtain got a whiff of the flame and consumed the structure, thus causing fire damage to the three apartment complex, the neighboring structure in the yard and, of course, took his life.”
Cattouse’s landlady, who is disabled, recounts having to evacuate her grandchildren from the family home as the fire consumed the apartment building.
“It was last night, I had was to tend to my two granddaughters, tek them out of the house and try get them to somewhere safe, you know. One of them is eight years old and one of them is six years old and only me and them were in the house, in my house. I was trying to get them to safety.”
Isani Cayetano
“That must have been a frightening experience, right?”
Landlady
“Yes, very… because I’ve never been through this experience before, you know.”
Isani Cayetano
“How are you dealing with it knowing that your tenant lost his life?”
“I can’t take it, I cannot take it. My head is hurting. I couldn’t even sleep. My hearts pains me and I’m nervous right now.”
Phillip “Cutty” Cattouse was well-known from his job with Pou’s Meatpie here in Belize City. Isani Cayetano for News Five.
