Photo: Aftermath of San Pedro fire
A fire on Berry Street displaced a family of 4 in Belize City; and in San Pedro Town, a fire destroyed over half a million dollars’ worth of property.
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Fri. Sept. 29, 2023
Over the weekend, in what is a suspected case of arson, a well-known business establishment in San Pedro Town was burnt to the ground along with all its contents valued at over half a million dollars. Meanwhile, a family of four in Belize City is without a home due to their house being destroyed by fire.
On Saturday, September 30, Lebanese business owner, Mohamad Kalim, 40, owner of Road Runner Golf Cart Rental, was informed at around 2:10 a.m. that his establishment was on fire, and when he arrived at the scene, he saw his entire business consumed by flames.
Personnel at the San Pedro Fire Service were able to extinguish the blaze, but not before the contents that were on the property at the time—a rental office, garage, a container accommodating the caretaker, 20 golf carts, and golf cart parts –were all destroyed.
Each golf cart is valued at $25,000, and the other items were new or second-hand golf cart parts and tools. Together they totaled approximately $551,600 in value.
Reports suggest that the blaze was a result of arson; however, no one has so far been detained in connection with the incident.
Over 12 hours earlier, on Friday, September 29, a family of 4 in Belize City were left homeless after their two-bedroom Berry Street wooden house, measuring 16 by 32 feet, was ravaged by a fire that began before the start of the workday.
Reports from the Belize Fire Department indicate that the blaze broke out sometime before 6:00 a.m. in one of the bedrooms of the home.
Station Officer of the National Fire Service, Kenneth Mortis told members of the local media that the fire was the result of illegal electrical wiring that was connected to the structure, which is usually the cause of many fires in that area.
“We see the recurring cause for these illegal connections leading to a situation such as a fire, which we all know what we enjoy today, we will not always enjoy tomorrow. Unfortunately, this is the case for this family,” he said.
Mortis went on to add, “It is part of our statistics that we have always had concerns and have pointed out with the BEL team. Unfortunately, this is something that needs to be looked at more in-depth in terms of, in my view, [in a] community aspect to see what is in place for these families that either, one, cannot afford to legally electrify their houses, or what can be done legally. It needs to be, to these people who continuously put not only themselves but an entire neighborhood at risk.”
Mortis noted that the results of the fire could have been grimmer, based on the proximity between the burnt structure and the other homes in the area; however, he applauded the assistance of the residents in the area who lent a hand in extinguishing the flames, alongside the fire department.
“I recognize you guys as well. Firefighting is a tedious task that is done basically by trained people; however, we often arrive [at] a scene whereby everybody wants to help, and we appreciate all the help that we can get, knowing our condition. So, it’s never something that we can just walk away and say we did it. Nah, it wasn’t the fire service that did it; it was us and the neighborhood that allowed us to walk away with just one building being burnt,” he said.
The structure was not insured, and the value of the home is still unknown.
No one was hurt as a result of the fire.