Chinese Shop’s Kitchen Burns as Owner is Out

There was another fire, but this one was contained rather quickly. It happened around twelve this afternoon today on Central American Boulevard in the lower flat of a commercial building. According to the Fire Department, the shop owner reported that they were cooking before they left the shop and it appears that they didn’t turn off the stove properly. The blaze was quickly contained and only the kitchen was damaged. Here’s more from the National Fire Service about the midday blaze.

Orin Smith

Orin Smith, Station Officer, National Fire Service

“At around 12:10 p.m., we received report of a structural fire on Central American Boulevard, Belize City. On responding to that fire, on arrival on scene we saw smoke and flames coming from a window of a lower flat of a two-storey concrete structure. Preliminary investigation revealed that the lower flat was occupied as a shop by a Chinese vendor who had occupied it; that individual had left the structure to retrieve or pick up their child at the school. That individual reported that prior to leaving the home, they were doing some cooking and they had turned off the stove. Apparently, the stove was not fully turned off. As a result, a fire destroyed the kitchen area of that structure. The upper flat was not damaged as a result of the fire.”