Fire truck rendered useless on fire scene by over-enthusiastic residents
CAYE CAULKER, Belize District, Tues. Sept. 25, 2019– Nando’s Golf Cart Rentals and Apartment, located on Langosta Street in Caye Caulker, was completely destroyed by a fire which began at about 11:40 Friday night, September 20. It was put out at about 2:30 Independence Day morning.
As a result, a two-flat building was destroyed and two other buildings, which included 10 apartments, were gutted, leaving 16 persons homeless.
Fire chief Colin Gillett, during a press brief held this afternoon at the Belize National Fire Service headquarters in Belize City, said that a truck attached to the Caye Caulker Fire Service was rendered useless during the fire, at about 11:30 that Friday night, by enthusiastic residents eager to help put out the fire.
He said that two trucks arrived on the scene, one truck about 100 feet north of the burning building, filled with 1,000 gallons of water, and one to the south of the building. The residents tried to take off the hose and began to beat the hose control levers to release the hose so that they could take it to begin to put out the fire.
When the hose did not release, however, a man brought a hammer and beat the levers, breaking the control and making the hose apparatus useless.
Chief Gillett said that the whole event was captured by cameras mounted in the area. After the apparatus was damaged, the truck was unable to pump the 1,000 gallons of water that were in it. He said that with that amount of water, along with the pump that was already working, they would have quickly gained control of the fire before it was able to spread.
The Fire Chief said that as a result, they will be collaborating with the Caye Caulker Village Council to identify villagers willing to form a volunteer fire-fighting group, which will be trained in firefighting drills and techniques, including the use of firefighting equipment, so that in the event of a fire, the volunteer firemen will be effective in helping to battle the blaze.
The area where the fire began has been identified, but the cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained, said the Fire Chief.
It was reported that two persons who had been in the burning building could not be found, but one man was later found in the area, and after the fire was put out, the firemen found the remains of a person identified as Elmer Chuc, a golf cart mechanic of Nando’s Golf Cart Rentals, who lived in one of the apartments.
His friends said that at about 8:30 p.m., Chuc and others who were drinking became drunk, and that at about 9:45 p.m., they decided to go to the park to observe the celebration activities, but Chuc did not go because he was not able to walk to the park, and he went to sleep.
When the fire erupted from the apartment, those in the building were evacuated, but since there was confusion, they thought that Chuc had also been evacuated.
In speaking to the media about the fire, Seleny Villanueva Pott, the Chairlady of Caye Caulker, said that electrical wires were popping and she and others went to a Belize Electricity Limited employee and asked him to turn off the electrical power for that area to avoid any mishaps due to electrical power and the popping and burning of live wires.
Pott was informed that there was a protocol in place before he could turn off the power, and that the request must be authorized and permission must be given. After about 25 minutes, the permission was granted and the switch was turned off, but the switch was turned off for the entire village, leaving the village with a power outage, which affected the pumping station, and there was no water in the village, since the station had stopped working.
About 75 persons then formed a bucket brigade and helped the firemen put out the fire, after Pott was told that some residents had rendered the fire truck useless.
There was time wasted between the time at which the BEL representative in the village got the permission to cut off the electrical power, and the time at which permission was granted from the headquarters of the company in Belize City. The village chair lady is now demanding that a person of authority be present in the village who can give permission to cut off power in the event of a fire, and also, linesmen are requested to be in the village to address any issues in relation to electrical wires during a fire.
The chairlady said that this is their first experience with such a calamity, and all will be done to avoid loss of life and destruction of properties by putting procedures in place. She said that there were several failures that worsened the situation. She sympathizes with Elmer Chuc’s family. Those who know him said that he was friendly and helpful.