Belize City Fire Leaves Eight Persons Homeless
A total of persons comprising two families are victims of a fire this morning in Belize City. A family of eight lost everything when the blaze swept through her house destroying all her personal belongings. The neighbor’s house was also damaged, but the fire was not as devastating. Luckily, no one was physically injured since the occupants of the houses were away. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
A midmorning fire in the Saint Martin’s area of Belize City has left a family of eight homeless. Just after ten a.m., while at work, Maria Louriano received a call that her house was ablaze; she rushed home to find fire-fighters on the scene and the place her family called home for the past fourteen years, burnt to the ground. Louriano says luckily her four school-aged children were staying with an aunt a few houses away and weren’t caught in the inferno.
Maria Louriano
Maria Louriano, Fire Victim
“About twenty past ten, I got a call from my aunt saying that my house was on fire. I was at my work and then I hurry left and come home, but the house was already engulfed in flames. I couldn’t do anything; it was already in big flames. I couldn’t save anything.”
Duane Moody
“Talk to us about how many of you guys live there?”
Maria Louriano
“Eight of us live there and everything gone.”
Rogelia Louriano
Rogelia Louriano, Fire Victim
“I lost my washing machine, my clothes, some kitchen stuff: refridge, stove. I lost my bed. I lost everything you could think about.”
The fire spread quickly through the Louriano’s residence and in minutes to the neighbor’s house. This partially destroyed elevated wooden house is being rented by Shelmadine Jones, who lives there with her son. The fire gutted her bedroom that is to the rear of the building. Jones says that she wasn’t at home at the time of the inferno, but has lost everything from inside her bedroom.
Shelmadine Jones, Fire Victim
“I mi gone out this morning and when I come back, I see the fire. My house damage because they bwai mi di try help fi get inside to out the back because dah my backroom mi ketch fire. From the neighbor and weh di breeze mi di blow, it ketch my backroom.”
Shelmadine Jones
Duane Moody
“Talk to us about what you saw when you arrived here?”
Shelmadine Jones
“Well when I come, the neighbor house done deh pan the ground, people done deh ina my house di wet up inside and I never know weh fi do. Fire truck was here, police…I noh know; it’s the first time I di go through something like this.”
Duane Moody
“Now you said that a part of your house has been burnt; clothes, etc, destroyed.”
Shelmadine Jones
“My clothes, my bed, my son’s things. my whole backroom. Everything ina my backroom get it.”
Both families are now seeking assistance to get back some sense of normalcy in their lives. For now, they will be staying with relatives until they can rebuild.
Maria Louriano
“I don’t know. I will have to start all over again.”
Duane Moody
“If anyone wants to assist, how can they?”
Maria Louriano
“My number is 633-3390…any assistance will be helpful.”
Duane Moody
“Where will you guys stay?”
Maria Louriano
“Well at my aunt or I will go around to other family member house to stay for the meanwhile.”
Shelmadine Jones
“I just di beg fi wah lee help just to get back mi bed and thing dehn fi mi backroom and some board so that I could fix the backroom over. If the boys dehn neva deh through the alley at the time, my whole house mi wah gwen and the next house ina di yard because dah about three house deh ina di back yard deh.”
Shelmadine Jones can be reached at 600-1954 if anyone would like to assist with recovering from this disaster. Duane Moody for News Five.
