Fire at PAHO office under investigation
Early this morning, firefighters were called to Eyre Street in Belize City after smoke was seen coming from the rear of the wooden PAHO/WHO building. Fire officials were able to get control of the fire before it could spread to the rest of the office but at news time tonight, the cause of the fire is still unknown. While investigators sift through the smoke charred scene, neighbors tell News Five they almost didn’t realize smoke was coming from the building because of the thick early morning fog.
Randolph Wade, Neighbor
“I live right over there and I came out to bring the garbage and the dogs were barking. I thought it was foggy and then I said, no, no and then I hurry came over here and talk to Mrs. Gabourel. But basically just a lot of smoke and then the siren came.”
According to the National Fire Service, they received a call from retired fire Chief Harold Gabourel, who lives beside the PAHO/WHO office at six this morning. PAHO/WHO representative Graciela Uriburu says their security firm called her about the fire.
Graciela Uriburu, PAHO/WHO Representative, Belize
“Yes, it was KBH who called me this morning at six o’clock telling me there was a fire but that the firemen were already here. So everybody was coming, everybody from the office was coming but the fire has already been controlled.”
Henry Baizar, Fire Chief
“We get the call on time. That is the main thing with a fire. If we are called on time, the guys they respond and they got there in time and they put the fire out in no time at all.”But what could have caused the fire in the first place, in a bathroom of all places?
Henry Baizar
“We haven’t determined the cause of the fire as yet. We know for sure that it is not electrical because we went through the remains and everything is intact. What caused it, we are still working on that.”
Janelle Chanona
Is there any possibility that this might be arson?
Henry Baizar
“I am not looking in that direction but it’s not something that we’re ruling out because where the fire started was in the bathroom and there’s not very much in the bathroom. It might have been that someone may have left something in there from the previous day or something like that….from using the bathroom or something like that. But we are checking out the last people that used the place and we’re checking out the people that were around the building, the security guards and these kinds of people. So there’s a lot of work left to be done before we can determine what is the cause of the fire.”
Janelle Chanona for News Five.
The PAHO/WHO office will reopen tomorrow. The building was insured. Fire Chief Henry Baizar says there have been seven fires, above average according to their records, in Belize City since the first of January.
