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Bradley Boatyard Burnt In Boom
posted (May 26, 2017)
Tonight, arson is in the news again. This time the location is the outskirts of Burrell Boom Village where someone set fire to two costly boat moulds owned by Bradley's Boatyard. Authorities found a bottle of gasoline as well as a few tires inside one of the moulds, which pretty much confirmed it as a case of arson.

But why would anyone want to burn the property of a well-known Belizean boat maker? Today, we spoke to Steve Bradley, the owner of the boat yard, who told us what he knows about the incident and the motives behind it. Here's Alex Courtenay with the story...

Alex Courtenay reporting
For the last few months, Steven Bradley, the owner of Bradley's Boat Yard, has been in the process of relocating his business from Belize City to Burrell Boom. Bradley has plans to increase the services he provides by moving to a larger space, but some of his neighbors at the next location did not take too kindly to the addition of his business in their community.

Steve Bradley - Owner, Bradley's Boat Yard
"When we bought the property, at least one of the neighbors became immediately vociferous approaching one Saturday with me when we were just moving some of our containers and some of our boat trailers and other boats that were not being worked on and that was the first friction, because before any explanation could be offered for his queries, it was sort of the person walking off in a huff, my mom would say in a "tizzy" without a care to hear the facts. It was simply a fact - "this boat yard is not going to happen here and we will not tolerate it" and "or else you will see what the villagers of Burrell Boom can do.""

Bradley says he did not take the threat seriously at first, but last night all that changed. Sometime before midnight, two fires were lit on Bradley's property causing some damage to the hull of one boat mould, and completely destroying another.

Steve Bradley - Owner, Bradley's Boat Yard
"When I got there last night, I am 19.6 miles exactly from where we sit to my entrance. When I got there last night, most of the fire was extinguish by the passersby, but what was evident from the very onset that there was a crystal water bottle, a gallon-sized bottle laying on the ground that was about a third filled with gas and that was lying beneath my 55 foot boat was partially burnt around the stern end of it and inside on top of the mould there were 2 tyres that were burnt. Somebody placed 2 tyres there and I would imagine they use the gas to provide an accelerant for the fire and the smaller 28 foot mould, my most popular mould was so badly burnt that I could not say if there were tyres there of if it was just gas. That's more for the fire department and their forensic team to decide that."

Bradley is still unsure why he was targeted so maliciously. He says and we confirmed that the project has the blessing of the village council:...

Steve Bradley - Owner, Bradley's Boat Yard
"Even before I bought and paid for the property, I sought and I met with the Burrell Boom Village Council, with the chairlady and her councilors and I discuss the detail what was my intention and that of Bradley's Boat Yard by extension as it related to the moving of our facility. Almost immediately we got a green light from the Burrell Boom Village Council as it related to that area."

He did admit that some people were concerned about fiberglass particles contaminating the air, and causing problems for those in the area who may have respiratory issues. However, Bradley told us that he had been working with the Central Building Authority and Department of the Environment to ensure that he was following every guideline in the book.

Steve Bradley - Owner, Bradley's Boat Yard
"We got the plans drawn up and basically the buildings that we were erected were not new structures, they were existing structures that were previously located on the boat yard site at Peter Seco Street, Belize City next to the Belcan Bridge, but we still had to submit plans to the Central Building. I got a copy of the fiberglass industry guidelines and they say as prescribed by the department of the environment and I started to highlight the main features that the department of environment would have liked to see in a facility such as ours and right away it became clear to me that what my intention was, of setting up my new facility at this new location was above and beyond what the guidelines was stipulated by the department of the environment."

Despite the loss of one of his most popular moulds and damage to another, and repair and replacement costs estimating over $100,000, Bradley says that he will not deterred from growing his business and providing better services to his clients.

Steve Bradley - Owner, Bradley's Boat Yard
"They can't burn me down. Legally I am not going to allow that and I have no intention of leaving this as it is. I am going to seek every angle of the law to put this to a closure and I'll do everything in my power to prevent this from happening again. As the military would say "we are ready for battle." We hope that this won't continue, but we have to be prepared, I have to protect my own interest, my own investment, I have to protect my staff and by common decency I am bound to help protect the good residents of the Burrell Boom community."

Bradley says he has a few suspicions about the identity of the arsonist or arsonists, and will assist the police as best he can in their investigation. The village Chairlady Erlene Baptist told us she was shocked at the fire and says that at no point has anyone made complaints about the Boatyard to the village council.

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