Is arson the cause of the fire that burned home of Inspector Mai?

So far in the newscast we have reported on the shooting spree, but there was other mayhem in the City and elsewhere. Eleven persons were affected by fires over the weekend. In the first instance, it is believed that the house of Inspector Claudio Mai who is stationed in San Ignacio, was deliberately set on fire after it was burglarized. No one was at the house on the afternoon of the tenth and nothing was salvaged after the blaze swept through the house on Giles Street. News Five’s Delahnie Bain reports.

Delahnie Bain, Reporting

There were several fires over the weekend—most caused only minor damages, but in two of the blazes, the contents of the houses were completely destroyed, leaving only a shell of the structures standing. The first was a case of arson on the tenth September at a house on Giles Street, which was owned by the Deputy Commander of the San Ignacio Police, Inspector Claudio Mai, who first received a call from his brother, saying that someone was drinking on his property.

Insp. Claudio Mai Sr., Deputy Commander, San Ignacio Police (via phone)

insp. claudio mai

“The house was alone because my wife came to San Ignacio and my daughter was out because it was the tenth. So I called my brother and said brother no is supposed to be on my veranda, much less drinking on my veranda. You need to go back and check what is happening. When he call me back he said my house is on fire. I said, cant. Anyway I was relieved from my duties and went to Belize City just to find out the inside of my house was almost totally messed up, burned down.”

Kenneth Mortis, Training Officer, National Fire Service

“We also learnt that a person or persons unknown made forcible entry into Inspector Mai’s place, they burglarized the place, did a lot of interior damage before setting the building ablaze. The fire started from the bedroom of Inspector Mai. The house, which was not insured, had an estimated value of forty thousand dollars and at the time of the incident no one was at home.”

While no one was at home when the fire broke, about nine persons occupied the forty by twenty foot structure. And while it is clearly an arson, it has not yet been determined how the fire started or why.

Insp. Claudio Mai

“What I have concluded is that because my brother saw the culprit or culprits it could have been, they wanted to destroy all evidence inside and out so they set it aflame.”

kenneth mortis

Kenneth Mortis

“Exactly how it started, we don’t know if the perpetrators used any accelerant or they just directly set fire to a bunch of clothing that was on the bed because we know for a fact that the room was pretty much overturned and from where the fire started before it spread to the balance of the house.”

Delahnie Bain

“Was anything saved; anything from inside?”

Kenneth Mortis

“A few minor household stuff. Very, very few were salvaged. As it was, the house isn’t in a living condition but the frame still stood as we left it.”

Mai also feels his house was an easy target since he is stationed in another district.

Insp. Claudio Mai

“I believe my not going home frequently because of the demand of my work out here. When you are a police officer, especially when you are in the hierarchy of the office in a district, you know it demands your presence at the district. So I didn’t go frequently home so I believe that is the reason.”

Police are now looking for Darrel Alvarez for questioning. Delahnie Bain for News Five.