Rosado Bakery destroyed by fire
The owners of a Belize City bakery and fire officials are still trying to determine how a fire started last night in Port Loyola. News Five’s Janelle Chanona was at the scene.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
This morning’s rain hasn’t managed to wash away the strong smell of smoke or the charred remains of a once prosperous business. Area residents say about ten minutes after ten, they saw smoke coming from the roof of Rosado’s bakery at the corner of Caesar Ridge Road and Gill Street. Flames quickly engulfed the building and the fire became even more dramatic as the bakery’s gas tanks began to explode one by one.
Juan Carlos Cienfuegos, Area Resident
“From my window, I just see the redness and I come outside and I just see the flames spreading out faster and faster every time. And as I came out I saw, it seems the many tanks, one or three tanks exploded. The fire engines took a little long time to come and by the time they came, the whole building was already a torch. A blazing torch.”
Fire Chief Henry Baizar says although reports now are that the fire started just before 10:00 last night, no one called the Fire Department until almost 20 minutes after 10:00. By then the fire had already advanced. In addition, firefighters had trouble getting to the flames because the building was so well protected.
Henry Baizar, Fire Chief
“When we arrived here the fire was inside the building and the whole building was barred down so we had to try to make some access to get in. But initially what we did while the fire was inside, was we tried not to allow the fire to spread to nearby buildings. And that is what we concentrated on until we could actually get inside the building to put the fire out.”
One of the building’s owners, Oscar Rosado, says he has no idea what could have started the fire but insists that all the business appliances, especially the ovens, were off when the employees left the bakery shortly before the fire started.
Oscar Rosado, Owner, Rosado’s Bakery
“The ovens were off already. We don’t leave ovens on.Everything was turned off before they went home.”
“Well our employees had just left for the evening. They had just finished their baking and slicing and everything and I was just getting ready for bed, drinking a glass of water when my dad came down and said my mom was taking a shower and saw smoke coming from the bakery to check if that was it.”
The Rosado family says they are trying to figure what they will do now. Although their five employees are temporarily unemployed some of them showed up today to help clean up anyway.
Rosado’s Bakery has been in operation since 1993. Up to news time tonight, fire officials say the cause of the fire is still unknown.
