Was Deon Ferguson’s House Burglarized and then Set on Fire?
There was a fire over the weekend that wiped out a man’s house in Belize City. Deon Ferguson, a tourism worker from San Pedro, received a call just before eleven on Saturday night that his property in the city was on fire. But by time the flames were put out, the property was already destroyed. Today, when we spoke with the homeowner, he was not sure what caused the fire, but says that his place was reportedly burglarized minutes before fire was seen inside. Here’s the story.
Deon Ferguson, Fire Victim
“Oh mien, this is a huge loss, mien, you know.”
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
It’s a big loss that Deon Ferguson is still processing today. His fully furnished house burnt down just before eleven o’clock on Saturday in the CET site area of Lake Independence in Belize City. A cell-phone user captured the big flames as they engulfed the house that night. Inside the charred remnants of appliances burnt through and through are scattered around. Today, Ferguson says he doesn’t know what caused the blaze but he was told that thieves broke inside and burglarized the place just before the fire started.
Deon Ferguson
“I get to understand that someone broke in and stomped the door open and robbed and looks like they set a fire. I am not really sure, right. Just from speculation I am hearing.”
Andrea Polanco
“Now, from what you’ve reviewed and looked inside, you can see clearly that stuff missing from inside?”
Deon Ferguson
Deon Ferguson
“Yes. I can see stuff missing as well. I can see everything burnt down. I lost everything.”
Ferguson resides in San Pedro where he works. So, no-one was inside on the night of the fire. He says that he recently built an addition to the four-bedroom concrete house. That addition was to open a small business. The products for that business also went up in flames.
Deon Ferguson
“I was investing and working on it. If you notice, you can see new things, structures. I was investing in it. I live in San Pedro, right and this was a project I have here in the neighborhood. Doing something good for the future kids, right. So, when I got a call from my aunt about quarter to eleven saying my house is on fire was a shocking situation for me as well.”
The house and contents are valued at over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Ferguson began to invest in the property since he was eighteen years old, so despite the losses, he is motivated to rebuild.
Deon Ferguson
“Oh mien. I had a lotta stuff in there. Lotta valuable things and sentimental things from family as well.”
Andrea Polanco
“How do you pick up the pieces from here?”
Deon Ferguson
“I will rebuild. To be honest, with you, I will rebuild with the grace of God I will rebuild from this.”
Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.
If you’d like to help Deon Ferguson rebuild, you can reach him at 614-3466 or via Facebook.
