Man Attempts Suicide by Fire in Pickstock Hutment

A twenty-one-year-old resident of Pickstock Hutment is recovering from serious injuries he received overnight when he attempted to set himself on fire inside an apartment building.  Sometime around midnight on Tuesday, Idelfonso Ku reportedly doused himself with fuel before lighting himself on fire. The incident, News Five understands, took place inside the home of deceased Belizean musician John King who was shot and killed in that neighborhood a few weeks ago.  According to fire officials, upon arriving on the scene of the incident they were met with hostility by residents in the area. Quick response led to the occupants of the apartment dousing Ku with water, before being rushed to the hospital for emergency medical attention. Kenneth Mortis is the Station Supervisor with the National Fire Service. 

Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor, National Fire Service

“Well we’ve learned that just after midnight we received another distress call for a potential fire in the Jungle area and upon our arrival, we actually did not see, we did not find any fire but we did learn that the fire was extinguished prior to our arrival.  This gentleman, twenty-one-year-old Idelfonso Ku had reportedly made an attempt to set himself ablaze inside one of the rooms in the building.  Up to this point in time I cannot tell you the degree of burns that he did sustain on his body, however, kudos to the quick response of the other occupants in the building and the neighborhood.  They managed to extinguish that fire and I was made to understand that he was rushed to the medical facility for treatment and, like I said, the degree of burns is not forthcoming to us as yet.”

Reporter

“What sort of damage did the room sustain that he allegedly tried to light?”

Kenneth Mortis

Kenneth Mortis

“Minimal fire damage.  Like I said, we did not, we literally didn’t do anything to that structure.  The water damage was sustained when they threw water on him and extinguished that particular fire.  It’s an unfortunate situation.  What would drive somebody to try to literally set themselves ablaze?  That’s a question that only Mr. Ku could answer, I don’t even know if any of the other family members could answer why he would do such a thing.  Again, it’s unfortunate, let’s hope that he has a speedy recovery and that the damages aren’t as severe as it may seem.”