Fire Leaves Single Mother and Kids Homeless

A fire on Antelope Street Extension has left a single mother and her two children without a roof over their heads. On Monday night in Belize City, a pair of unsupervised children playing with matches started a fire inside the room of Geneve Armstrong. The inferno damaged most of her household items and the mother is now living with a friend. She needs your assistance and today, News Five’s Duane Moody spoke with Armstrong on the unfortunate incident.

Duane Moody, Reporting

Sometime after nine o’clock on Monday night, a fire broke out inside this apartment on Antelope Street Extension. Inside were the children of Geneve Armstrong, who was outside near the gate talking with a friend. She quickly ran to the room and her children escaped unhurt, but most of her household items were destroyed by the inferno.

Geneve Armstrong

Geneve Armstrong, Fire Victim

“I was outside my gate talking to a friend when I heard my daughter’s voice and she said mommy, mommy, fire ina fi we room. So I run ina di room and when I opened my door, my mattress curtain and table…whole thing under fire. I lose my beds…because I mi have two beds ina mi room. Mi stove get damage, mi stove got damage; mi table, mi necessities weh I put pan mi table got damage; mi fan and the whole place just black and full of smoke.”

Duane Moody

“The children lost all their books and uniforms as well?”

Geneve Armstrong

“They lost their school bags, shoes and one and two of their uniforms.”

Fire officials confirmed today that the blaze started inside the room on the mattress where the children were experimenting with matches. By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, however, the blaze was already extinguished. Armstrong confirmed that the children were playing with matches.

Duane Moody

“What did you understand happen? “

Geneve Armstrong

“I think the kids mi di play with match and they light the curtain or the sponge.”

The room in which Armstrong and her two children, ages five and three, lived was home for the family for over a year. While the loss, for others, might not seem as much, for the family it is all that they owned.

Geneve Armstrong

“I lived there for a little over a year and that was the place that I called home. Now I am living with a friend, but I don’t want to stay here too long because she has her family to take care of. So I can’t stay here with her with my children because I can’t be nobody’s stress.”

Duane Moody

“Talk to us about what is going through your head now, having to provide for your kids but you lost everything.”

Geneve Armstrong

“I don’t know. Right now it’s just to live day by day because I don’t have no job, but I am a single parent. Right now I am glad that my children noh really understand so ih noh show pan them. Bbut dah me have the stress fi make sure dehn eat every day, make sure dehn stay happy and noh really know weh di happen so that dehn can’t ask me, “Mommy why we di stay dah people house and dehn want go home.” And that hurt fi hafto tell yo children dehn yo can’t go home right now; just wait. But I noh know till how long I could wait.”

Duane Moody

“They’ve asked that?”

Geneve Armstrong

“Last night my daughter tell me that ih want go home.”

Armstrong is now asking for assistance to get back the items she lost in the blaze, including the school uniforms and books for her children.

Geneve Armstrong

“Right now dah just fi try get some help from mi area rep; try get some help from other people weh woulda want reach out and help me, me and my children to get mi life back on track. It noh easy being a single parent and have to get up and send yo children dah school.”

Duane Moody for News Five.

Anyone who would like to assist Armstrong can contact her at phone number 601-7860