Arson claims Arana home on Mahogany Street

There was a fire in Belize City on Saturday morning. The home of seventy one year old Juliana Arana and her son Armin was gutted some time after four a.m. Arana, who spent the weekend in Barranco, had lived in the home for twenty years and now has to start all over again. The investigation is almost complete and though the Fire Department won’t call it an act of arson, officials do believe it was the result of a malicious act.

Jose Sanchez

“Did you manage to save anything?”

Juliana Arana, Victim of Arson

“Just a few things from the hall; both rooms, we lost everything.”

Jose Sanchez

“When it comes to valuables like your photos, your valuables?”

Juliana Arana

Juliana Arana

“Most of them destroyed; only a few we can salvage.”

Jose Sanchez

“When it comes to where you will sleep tonight, will you stay here?”

Juliana Arana

“We weren’t here when the fire happened you know. We were in Barranco for a funeral. But when we came back, we went to live with one of my daughter.”

Jose Sanchez

“Now the nature of the fire itself, was anything left on? Did you have electrical problems as far as you are aware?”

Juliana Arana

“No not that I am aware. I made sure I disconnect everything—the TV, the radio, everything was disconnected—even the gas tank I tightened. We didn’t leave anything and the house was locked.”

Jose Sanchez

“Is it possible that it could have been an electrical fault?”

Juliana Arana

“I have no idea. I have no idea because from the room that the fire started, no electrical, no lights were there; no lights were working in that room.”

Jose Sanchez

“So this is a room…you are feeling that it is something suspicious?”

Juliana Arana

“Maybe, I would think so.”

Jose Sanchez

“Have you determined the cause of the fire?”

Benisford Matura, Operations Manager, Fire Dept.

Benisford Matura

“Our team of investigators got in a studied the fire patterns and we’ve discovered that at some point the lock from the back door was ripped off. Also in the immediate area, there was a scent of some sort of accelerant—what; we don’t really know. We will have to run more test on it. Some type of accelerant was used to start this fire.”

Jose Sanchez

“During this investigation, did you question neighbors? Did anyone tell you they saw anyone running from the house?”

Benisford Matura

“We talked to neighbors, but no one said anything to that effect.”

Jose Sanchez

“The owner of the house said when she left, the house was locked, everything was turned off.”

Benisford Matura

“Yeah, like I said, we discovered to the back door a lock was ripped off.”

Jose Sanchez

“You haven’t said specifically, I don’t want to guess. But accelerant, backdoor ripped off; are you going to call it arson?”

Benisford Matura

“We cannot technically call it arson. What we call it is an incendiary fire; some sort of malicious act.”

Juliana Arana

“I am appealing for help at this time because almost everything gone. And the roofing is gone; that has to be replaced. Maybe the whole house has to be rebuilt again. I would really appreciate any help that comes from anybody. My number for them to reach me is 653-3040. I would appreciate any help that I could get at this time.”

Arana intends to have a barbecue in the yard on Saturday to raise funds to buy some supplies.