House burns, friend helps occupant escape

When a fire wakes you up from a deep sleep, the last thing you’d expect is some clearheaded thinking. But fortunately it was just such coolness under pressure that allowed one Belize City woman to escape the flames and bring a friend to safety as well.

Timmary Requena, Fire Victim

“He couldn’t help himself at all to try and come out because he was on fire. All I could have done was stamp open the window and tell him to just jump out.”

Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting

Timmary Requena is the good samaritan, who literally saved forty-two year old Wayne Thurton from death when fire gutted his home on Reggae Street in the Port Loyola area of Belize City this morning.

Requena says she spent the night over at Thurton’s and was there when the unfortunate incident occurred, shortly after 5:00 a.m.

Timmary Requena

“Before the fire started, I turned and saw Wayne fooling around with one of those little B.D.F. stoves. That was what he used to heat his tea and things like that. So I just dropped asleep back, but within that space of time I dreamed that I was surrounded with fire. I felt the heat by my leg and got up. When I got up, I saw him by the corner of the wall with his two hands over his eyes bawling that fire is burning him. So I jumped up, stood on the bed and looked at the four corners of the walls to try and see how we could come out. I noticed this little window on the side that did not catch fire yet. It was giving trouble to open, so I all could have done was stamp it open to let him come outside, then I jumped out.”

According to Requena, she wasn’t sure how the fire started, but when the smoke cleared, Thurton gave her his account from his hospital bed.

Timmary Requena

“He told me that he threw gas in the pot instead of water, and it was the gas that exploded in his face.”

Ann-Marie Williams

“Aren’t you glad that you were on hand to save a life?”

Timmary Requena

“Well yes, I feel proud that I could have helped out the house than to just let us stay in panicking about who is coming to help us. So I just thank God that I was there to save him and everything.”

Ann-Marie Williams for News 5.

According to hospital officials, Wayne Thurton suffered deep second degree burns to thirty-eight percent of his body. The flames also caused damage to his upper respiratory tract.