BELIZE CITY, Fri. Feb. 28, 2020– A house and its contents were completely destroyed by fire in the Gungulung area of Lake Independence, last night, Thursday, leaving Edgar Richards, 54, and his wife homeless. Luckily, no one was injured, and no other houses in the area were damaged.

Anthony Mortis, Station Supervisor at the Belize National Fire Service, said that they found that the fire was caused by an electrical overload due to an illegal connection to a lamppost. He said that the fire began in the living room and that there was no evidence of arson. Mortis, warns members of the public not to steal electrical power from the lampposts, because of the great danger it poses.

Edgar Richards told the media that he was sleeping in his house last night when he heard a crackling noise coming from his back room, where he keeps bicycles that he is repairing. When he went to check, he saw that the room was engulfed in flames.

Richards immediately alerted his neighbors so that they could help him, and they broke a stand-pipe in the yard and used the water to try to put out the fire.

By the time the Fire Service was called, it was too late — the house and everything in it was destroyed.

Richards said that among his many belongings which were destroyed were his groceries, stereo system, washing machine, refrigerator and other items. He estimated the loss to him to be about $40,000.