Arson Suspected in Belize City Fire
Fire officials believe a fire Tuesday evening that destroyed a wooden structure near the Yarborough Bridge in Belize City was intentionally set. Fortunately, the house has been unoccupied and did not contain any household items. This afternoon we spoke to the officer in charge at the Belize District National Fire Service about this latest case of suspected arson and the owner of the house Stanley Reneau.
Kenneth Mortis
Kenneth Mortis, Officer in Charge, Belize District Fire Service
“Five twenty five the National Fire Service was alerted of a call. The caller stated of an unknown fire in the Yabra Area. We responded and on arrival we saw a wooden structure engulfed in flames. We got into fire fighting mode. As per normal, an investigation commenced to determine ownership, the cause. We learnt that the building which was unoccupied at the time of the fire was owned by Stanley Reneau. Those football people might know him as Jordan. The building was unoccupied. It had no electricity. Fortunately, our team managed to suppress the fire before the building was totally gutted. The structure remains, heavy damages was suffered.”
Reporter
“Any idea of the source?”
Kenneth Mortis
“We learnt that the fire originated from the rear of the building, which we would make reference as the south eastern portion of the building, near the sea. Due to the use of the building, it wasn’t occupied. They found the remains of a chair, but they couldn’t find any other household items. An extensive and thorough search of the area was conducted to determine the cause. We can say the cause was a malicious act by person or persons unknown, for whatever reasons unknown to us. The location where we noticed this fire started from was at the rear. Out of the view of the closest neighbor, so that gave the perpetrator enough time to create their mischief and abandon the scene without being noticed.”
Stanley Reneau
Stanley Reneau, Fire Victim
“Yesterday I got a call, I got the first call between five and five fifteen telling me that my house was on fire. I was in Belmopan as I am on the coaching staff. I am the goal keeper coach for the U20 National Team preparing for the Santa Domingo World Cup Qualifiers. We leave Belize the fifteenth.”
Paul Lopez
“Do you have any suspicions as to who may be behind this?”
Stanley Reneau
“No suspicions, no clue.”
Paul Lopez
“Are you aware of the fact, that according to the Fire Department, this is a case of arson?”
Stanley Reneau, Fire Victim
“Definitely it will be a case of arson, because the house didn’t have any water. It did not have any electricity.”
