Fire Leaves Five Homeless, Including Three Children

Five persons, including three children are left displaced after an electrical iron was left on at their house at the Corner of Jane Usher Boulevard and Curl Thompson Street in the Port Loyola area of Belize City. The iron overheated and triggered a fire that burnt down the house shortly after eleven o’clock this morning. A neighbour called one of the occupants and informed them that the house was on fire and fire fighters were summoned to the scene but the house was already engulfed by the time they arrived a few minutes later.  Call Centre Agent at Transparent B.P.O., Sherie Westby who occupied the house, told News 5 that while she does not remember leaving on the iron, she admits that the house had an electrical fault.

Sherie Westby, Fire Victim

Sherie Westby

“I recall leaving this morning about 6:45; before I was ironing but to be honest, I’m not sure if I unplugged the iron, but someone was at the house but when I asked, they told me that they unplugged the surge that the iron connect to, so if the surge is unplugged then that means the iron would not be plugged in.  And, I’m not sure, but I would say electrical problem because one day I was in there and the bulb blow [out]. All I did was replaced the bulb and that solved the problem, so I never looked into it.  I ignored it, but I would think it’s electrical problems.”