BELIZE CITY, Thurs. July 29, 2021– Today, a Belize City family is asking for the public’s assistance after a fire burnt their home of 20 plus years to the ground. The couple, Fitzroy Myles, Sr., and his wife, Dorva Myles, lost all their belongings save two cellphones, in a fire on Thursday morning around 2:00. Investigators believe the blaze may have been set deliberately, but have no suspect in custody so far for the alleged arson.
Reports are that the couple detected the fire after seeing a glowing light outside their room. Fitzroy Myles went to see what was the source of the light and discovered the blaze in its infancy, before seeing his weed wacker on fire. He tossed the grass cutter outside and burnt his hand in the process before going to the bathroom to fill a bucket of water to quell the flames. By the time he returned with the water, it was too late, the blaze had intensified and he had to get away from the fire.
His wife, Dorva Myles, told local media that a National Fire Service truck arrived when the flames had already spread through the house. The National Fire Service’s Station Officer, Kenneth Mortis, confirmed this, saying that by the time his firemen arrived on the scene, electrical wires were sparking, the butane tank had exploded, and what appeared before them was “a fourth of July on the twenty-eight of July.”
He said that despite the daunting scene, the 7-man team worked to contain the fire and extinguished the blaze before it spread to nearby homes.
He said that, during their investigation after the fire, they detected the presence of an accelerant, besides the fuel mix used to operate the weed wacker.
“We detected a vague scent. Because it was a minimal smell that we detected, the traces were found at the rear of the building. We believe that that was the cause of the fire. Bear in mind, you might say, but then doesn’t a weed eater have fuel as well? That scent that I picked up this morning and what we observed was straight accelerant,” Mortis told the media.
The family is now forced to seek out a new beginning, as the Police Department tries to determine who targeted them and why.
As mentioned, the only items saved in the conflagration were two cellphones. The numbers for those phones are 610-4134 or 669-9157, and any member of the public who wants to lend a helping hand can give the family a call.