Fire Guts Two Properties through Duck Alley

Two houses were consumed by fire on Monday night, displacing as many as eight persons from two families. The fire erupted before eight o’clock and spread quickly, destroying the properties located off Wagner Lane in Belize City. It is believed that a domestic dispute among siblings led to arson.  Here is News Five’s Isani Cayetano with a report.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

A fire on Monday night consumed a pair of elevated wooden structures through Duck Alley, an offshoot of Wagner’s Lane.  The blaze, according to thirty-six-year-old Lancelot Flowers, who also lost his home, was intentionally set, following a domestic dispute between his neighbours.

Lancelot Flowers

Lancelot Flowers, Fire Victim

“I live ova dis house ya to the right.  Me and mi family membas mi di relax last night, me, mi wife, mi kids, and I overheard wahn argument eena dis yaad with mi neighbour.  Di elder ah di house deh da caye di work, wahn lady, and ih leff bout five ah ih sons dehn een ya di control di house.  Ah heard wahn argument, ah hyah somebody di talk bout yoh noh wahn got no house fi live eena tonight.  So I come outta my house cohn sih we di happen.  When I look da wahn young lady, wahn notha young man weh da noh from round ya and dehn had wahn disagreement with di two sons ah di lady weh live eena dis yaad ya.  I come out and I diffuse di problem and I tell dehn unu get outta di place before unu get hurt because unu cohn staat problem eena wahn neighborhood weh done get tyiad ah sih problem, yoh know.”

Believing that the disagreement had been resolved, Flowers retreated to his home next door, only to find out a short while later that someone had set his neighbour’s home on fire.

Lancelot Flowers

“Di brethren come back with di female and ih look like dehn light dehn ya people house up pan fyah.  Ah noh wahn sound like ah di throw nothing pan nobody but dehn have people weh sih dehn come back eena di yaad, staat wahn fight with di two sons.  Dehn run ova di neighbour yaad and leff fi dehn house fi di people dehn do anything to it and mein, people get merciless, just throw something een ya and light up di lady place pan fyah and gaan bout dehn business.  One ah my stepson tell me dehn light something ova ya.  I come out ah my house and cohn round, di person dehn done gaan so I holla cross ah di neighbor yard fi di two sons dehn come ova dehn ma yaad mek wih cohn out dis thing.  Dis lee house dah mih wahn lee plywood so yoh done know di fyah eat that up like nothing bro.  Di lady lose everything.  Da noh me live ova ya, but I lose everything ova deh too eena my house.”

Station Officer, Orin Smith, of the National Fire Service, confirmed the report and provided details of the damages caused by the fire.

Orin Smith

Orin Smith, Station Officer, National Fire Service

“At approximately 7:50 p.m., the National Fire Service received reports from the police of a structural fire at Number Fifteen Wagner’s Lane address in Belize City.  Two units were dispatched to that location.  On arrival on scene, found was a twelve by thirty wooden bungalow structure completely engulfed in flames.  The west face of a second wooden structure, on an adjacent lot, on the immediate east of the burning structure was also on fire.  Following a brief size-up, the department went into operation to extinguish the fire.  As a result of that fire, the structure the fire originated at was destroyed.  The second wooden structure received severe damage to its west face, a portion of its south face and a part of the interior.  Two other structures received minor fire damages.”

An investigation into the incident is ongoing. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.