Fire destroyed a home in Belize City this weekend – but the home’s
not so much the thing because the woman of the house is a construction worker.
The painful part is that is that it happened just after her son’s birthday.
Jacqueline Godwin found out more today.
Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
Four year old Kirk Elrington points to what remains of his birthday cake. Even
the party meal of rice and beans was still in the pot on top of the stove. Luckily
twenty seven year old Stacey Thurton and her three children ages two to seven
years old had already celebrated around three thirty on Sunday evening and where
not at home when flames engulfed the upper flat of the two bedroom house situated
at number ninety six B Neal’s Penn Road. Most of what the family owned
was completely burned. Fortunately Stacey Thurton who is one of the few Belize
women construction workers in the country did find her tools in the debris tools
- those will be needed to help rebuild her life.
Stacey Thurton, Fire Victim
“It is starting all over again. I just have to get up and push and
try to see where I can get help from. I am a hard worker so I will continue
to work hard and get back on my feet.”
The loss has devastated Stacy Thurton but she remains optimistic that all will
be well with the young family.
Stacey Thurton,
“Well actually I wasn’t here. I went out. My kids were at my
neighbour’s house and I went out to take a piece of cake to my sister
in law and three minutes later I got a call that my house is on fire.”
And it in was matter of only three minutes that everything Stacy Thurton spent 
most of her adult life working hard and purchasing her household times was completely
destroyed by fire.
Stacey Thurton,
“I had a brand new computer set, like three 19 inch TVs, a smaller
one, refridge, washing machine, stove, toaster oven – a lot of stuff -
a real lot of stuff.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
What a way to remember your son’s 4th birthday.
Stacey Thurton,
“What a way to remember, yeah.”
Investigations are still very preliminary but Stacy Thurton strongly believes
it may have started due to an electrical problem inside the switch box at the
upper front portion of the outside wall. From there the fire quickly spread
to the interior of the building.
But already Stacy Thurton and her three children are not being forgotten. So
far they have been receiving assistance from the Belize City National Emergency
Organization and her children’s primary school.
Stacey Thurton,
“I had a few wet clothes and I tried to get them out. I got something
to put on that the guy who I work, at his grandmother he found one or two pieces
of clothes for me so I could have something to wear. I have one or two people
that I work for who are giving me a hand, helping me out but it is just the
living arrangement I have to work.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Right you are staying with family or with friends?
Stacey Thurton,
“Actually the guy I work with, at his grandmother. It is just friends
helping me out but it is rough. It is rough. And then my kids staying at my
neighbour’s house because they don’t have any space.”
While Stacey Thurton is not pointing any fingers she says the fire occurred
shortly after a team from Belize Electricity Limited had worked in the area
and now she wonders if there is a connection.
Stacey Thurton,
“The Saturday after they finished work I had no current in the house,
only right here as I said before.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Did you complain to BEL at the time?
Stacey Thurton,
“Well actually I was waiting until Monday because it was late Saturday
already and so I said I would call Monday and find out what happened because
it is right after they left that trouble started. I only had current right around
here where the actually start over that side.”
According to fire officials they are investigating to see if it was anything
electrical that may have started the blaze. In the meantime this hardworking
single of mother three needs your help to reunite the family.
Luke Collymore, Employer/House Doctors Comp.
“It was very hard. When I heard it I couldn’t believe that somebody
who works so hard, gets up everyday, puts everything into her kids, her child
was celebrating his birthday – it kind of puts life into perspective that
one minute you could have everything and the next minute it could be gone and
I would like to ask anybody who could help Stacy. She works really hard. Stacy
is not the type of person who would go out on the street begging anybody for
anything. She would get up and go to work. She is a hardworking woman and if
anybody could help her, it would really be appreciated.”
If you can assist Stacy Thurton and her children you can reach Stacy at cell
phone 624–6666. Reporting for 7News Jacqueline Godwin.
The fire service reports that when they arrived on the scene, the interior
was already engulfed in flames and there was nothing they could have done to
save the building and its contents; they focussed on containing it. According
to the National Fire Service at this time they cannot determine what started
the blaze because presently the switchbox is in the hands of their investigators
who will be working to find out whether not it was the cause of the fire. Fire
investigators are especially looking for signs that the wires inside the panel
were fused, which would have created a spark or short circuit that could have
ignited a blaze.
According to BEL, they too are awaiting the results of the fire investigation
but told us that the only installation and electrical connection they do is
from the BEL pole to their weatherhead that is on the outside of the residence.
Any electrical connection from the weatherhead to the panel box or what is also
referred to as the switchbox is the sole responsibility of the private electrician
who is hired by the property owner or renter. Meanwhile BEL says as in any case,
they are doing their own investigation. .
7New understands the property was owned by one Carolee Elrington and was uninsured
but it is valued at fifty thousand dollars
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