Photo: Burnt remains of house on Balan Street
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Feb. 8, 2023
A late afternoon fire on Tuesday, February 7, on Balan Street in the Lake Independence area of Belize City gutted a wooden home that did not have an electrical connection. The house was 14 by 16 feet in size and was reportedly occupied by a mentally challenged man.
According to reports, the resident of the home, Justo Augustine, a 37-year-old Belizean laborer, was seen outside his home in the yard, and then, shortly after he reentered the house, an explosion was heard which caused the home to burst into flames, which apparently started burning in the living room.
After an investigation was done by personnel of the National Fire Service, it was discovered that containers, with between 10 and 20 gallons of fuel in each of them, were stored inside the home, and that Augustine’s source of light was a lit candle.
“It is alleged that he’s a mentally challenged individual, [as] neighbors around are saying that he was having a one-on-one conversation with himself. While in this structure, he was playing with something, a lighter [or] a candle, and neighbors reportedly heard a bang before smoke and flames were observed,” said Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor at the National Fire Service.
Mortis said that it is considered a negligent act and commended the neighbors who assisted in retrieving Augustine from his home.
“I will give credit to the neighbors that were firefighters before the Fire Department arrived. They were the ones that took this fella’ out of the house and escorted him to safety. They were the ones that start with the initial firefighting, and when we got there, we were focusing on the extinguishment … whenever we respond to a fire of this nature it’s not always the Fire Department that shines, and we must give credit where credit is due,” he said.
Mortis said that they tried to determine why Augustine had those containers in his possession, but have so far not ascertained what that reason might be.
The house and its contents, valued at $6,000, were destroyed, but thankfully, no lives were lost.
In another incident, which occurred in San Pedro Town on Saturday, four golf carts and the front portion of a home on Rainbow Street in the DFC area were destroyed by fire.
According to reports, at around 2:15 a.m. on Saturday, February 4, the owner of the home, Evelyn Cordon, 37, woke up and saw a golf cart speeding away from the scene; then later she saw four golf carts engulfed in flames, and suspected it was arson.
Cordon only suffered minor injuries to her fingertips.
Station Supervisor Mortis didn’t comment on whether fuel was used to set the fire.