Photo: Benjamin Crown, owner of Crown’s Lumber Yard

by Kristen Ku

SHIPYARD, Orange Walk District, Tues. July 18, 2023

A large portion of Crowns Lumber Yard was razed by a monstrous fire that resulted before dawn on Monday, July 17, when crude oil — nine thousand gallons of it — was sprayed onto the property, including equipment, and ignited. The catastrophe can be traced to the leaking hose of a fuel tanker that was transferring oil to a storage tank on the property, where crude oil is kept for the curing of wood to ensure resistance of the lumber to rain/moisture. But, that tanker, which is owned by M. Leiva and Sons Trucking Company and was being driven by Amir Leiva, was being powered by a gasoline motor — which, according to reports, should not be used during the transfer of easily ignited substances such as crude oil.

Some of the crude oil that leaked out due to the loose hose, fell onto the pump of the motor, and burst into flames, which began to spread.

Witnessing the escalating situation, Crown’s grandchildren and workers rushed to alert the driver, who was unaware of the unfolding danger. As the driver attempted to address the situation, the fire spiraled out of control.

Crown stated, “The fire could no longer be controlled, and he even burned a part of his foot.”

Soon thousands of gallons of crude oil had been sprayed over the property — resulting in a raging blaze that would continue to ravage the lumber yard for several hours before being fully put out.

According to the owner of the lumber yard, Benjamin Crown, almost two hours passed before firefighters arrived to start their attempts to put out the flames, and it was thus necessary for members of the Shipyard community and villagers to join forces in an attempt to contain and extinguish the flames.

Together, they attempted to start the fuel tanker truck to prevent further damage, eventually managing to remove it from the premises.

Although the flames near the fuel storage tank on the premises had been extinguished to prevent an explosion, the remaining oil was deemed unusable. Additionally, a significant portion of Crown’s valuable wood inventory, estimated at $150,000, was destroyed by the blaze.

Benjamin Crown, the owner of the lumber yard and hardware business, told reporters, “There was a man that came to deliver crude oil but he came in a wrong truck. He was supposed to first unload in a different place, but he came here with a truckload of oil. However, his pump was giving problems and oil was escaping, and some fell onto a gasoline motor nearby, and that’s how the fire started.”

“One of my buildings also got damaged, but not as much due to all the help from those who came to help, and we were able to control that fire,” he stated.

He expressed frustration, however, at the delay in the arrival of firefighters. He said that three calls were made in an attempt to reach the fire department, and that it took firefighters an hour and a half to arrive, but Crown said that when they did, “nobody knew how to operate the machinery and none of them were able to help me at all.”

Although the business was insured, Crown noted that he has been having difficulty accessing a payout because of the insurance company’s determination that it was another entity that caused the blaze.

“Here in Shipyard we are insured. They already came this morning to check with us, but they are not in agreement because the accident was not my fault. The insurance says that the fire did not start because of me, it’s because of them who brought in a gasoline powered motor that they were not supposed to have or use to transfer dangerous material,” he told a local reporter.

He firmly stated, “The police are saying that I won’t be able to receive anything in exchange because it was our error when transferring the oil. And I said absolutely not, the insurance must answer here. I am not satisfied. My business is insured in Shipyard, not in Orange Walk Town.”

Crown plans to obtain a report from the fire department and engage in the necessary paperwork to secure assistance.

The fire was eventually extinguished by 3:00 a.m., but the estimated total loss stands at BZ$200,000.

The driver of the fuel tanker, Amir Leiva, had reportedly been taken to the Northern Medical Plaza in Orange Walk Town, treated, and has since been released.