Fire Department Chasing Suspected Cause of Prince Street Fire

The other fire occurred on Wednesday morning on Price Street in downtown Belize City. Sometime after seven o’clock, Arilee Scott and her four-year-old grandson were inside the two storey wooden structure when a fire broke inside a bedroom on the upper flat of the building. According to Scott, the minor said that he was simply watching TV when the fire started and he ran to notify her. It was the second time in ten years that fire struck the Scotts, who once again lost everything to the blaze. In an update today, Operations Officer at the National Fire Service, Benisford Matura, confirmed to the media that it was not an electrical fire, and in fact, started on top of the bed.

Benisford Matura, Operations Officer, National Fire Services

“Upon arrival, the house was set off about a few yards off the street. Upon arrival, the back and upper portion of the two-storey dwelling was engulfed in flames. We got into operation and quickly extinguished and got that fire under control. Most of the burned area was the upstairs section; the bottom just had a little water damage.”

Benisford Matura

Duane Moody

“Now, the owner of the house said that the kid just went upstairs, turned on the TV and thereafter the fire started. What is the investigation showing so far as to a cause of the fire?”

Benisford Matura

“Our investigators were there yesterday for quite a while checking out the scene, doing their fire patterns and tracing back. This fire started in the bedroom on the upstairs, on top of the bed. What exactly started the fire is still puzzling for us and we are still trying to find out what exactly started it. But the origin of the fire was on top of the bed in the upstairs room; that is the origin of the fire.”

Reporter

“Does that exclude electrical faults?”

Benisford Matura

“Yes, we also traced the wires for the building and on the electrical side, everything was intact.”

Investigations continue into the cause of the fire.