While sections of the country complained about the hot conditions they were forced to deal with due to the blackout on Friday, two children died a tragic death from being burnt alive, when the house they were trapped in went up in flames.
On Saturday, April 17, 2010, at about 2:25 a.m., Dangriga police were informed about a house on fire, with two children inside, on Benguche Boulevard, Dangriga Town. On reaching the area, they found firemen manning hoses at a wooden house with zinc roofing, measuring about 15ft. by 15ft. and elevated about 5 feet off the ground. The building was engulfed in flames.
Their initial investigations revealed that around 9:00 p.m. on Friday, April 16, Lancia Castillo, 21, a domestic, went to a wake at a nearby house, leaving Irecie “Rice” Higinio, 26, a driver, of the same address, to take care of their children Alexander Castillo, 7, and Marise Higinio, 4, at the house.
Irecie Higinio apparently locked up the house around 2:15 a.m. to attend the same wake, on 7th Street, leaving both children alone in the house.
Ultimately, firefighters managed to extinguish the fire. But it was too late: Both children were found inside the house, huddled in a corner, burnt to death. The bodies were transported to the Southern Regional Hospital, where the death of both kids was confirmed. Both bodies now await a post-mortem.
Police have since detained Irecie Higinio and Lancia Castillo pending investigations.
Amandala went searching for answers in Dangriga. Neighbors said that Lancia Castillo lived with her two children, Alexander Castillo and Marise Higinio, in the now-destroyed house, and also that Irecie Higinio, who is the father of the children, was not living with the family anymore.
Several eyewitnesses indicated that Castillo left earlier that Friday night to give assistance at the wake of a family friend, Monica Sacasa, 62, who died of a heart attack in Belize City on April 10, 2010.
They also told Amandala that Castillo was serving food and drinks when the people attending the wake saw smoke. They did not see any cause for worry or urgency, however, because it is commonplace for small fires to burn around Dangriga Town.
Witnesses say that after 15 minutes of seeing the smoke, one person went to investigate the source of the fire and called the police. Those who were present at the wake all confirmed that there were only two roads that the fire trucks could have possibly taken, and that no one heard a siren. It was only when the person who went to investigate came back and said that “Rice’s” house was on fire, that the guests hurried over to the house which, at that point, was almost completely burnt.
Another neighbor told Amandala that they had seen the house on fire and called the police, but did not suspect that the children were still in the house. Witnesses say that the firefighters found the two children hugging each other tightly in a corner, as if in intense fear, as they awaited their painful deaths.
Amandala spoke with the mother, Lancia Castillo, who gave us a pain-filled interview, in which she said, “I was serving food at the wake. I was helping the relatives of the lady that died, because when my mother died, that lady and I was the only ones at the hospital, and she was the only one there for me at the time when they told me the news, so I was trying to show them that appreciation. I don’t know what to think, because even their dad told me that he didn’t put any padlock on the door.”
“I know that we are in trouble”, she said, “They had me arrested; one spell they put me in the cell, and they took me out because I have high blood pressure. So they didn’t want to leave me in there, but they kept the father there. And it is so sad. I didn’t like that they kept him there either, because he loved his kids, and he is always there for his kids. People might say that I leave my kids alone by themselves, but I don’t leave them alone by themselves. If I don’t take them to their aunt, my friends, or their father has them.”
Allegations were indeed made that Castillo left her kids unattended frequently. It was also alleged that the fire was caused by candles, which Castillo denied, because the house had electricity.
Others also alleged that it may have been an electrical problem, which is also plausible given the power interruptions that night.