Email

Print

Courtney Weatherburne reporting
Passersby looked on in shock as the gloomy grey smoke blanketed the Santa Elena Sky.

The blaze started in the wooden bedroom in this house and spread quickly. Fortunately, the homeowner got out in time.

Gregorio Thomas August, Home Owner
"Saturday afternoon about 3:30pm I was watching TV. I was alone because my family went to the waterfall. They ask if I wanted to go and I said no I will stay and watch movies better. I was watching movie and I heard something flicker from this room here. When I see smoke went into the bogger room over there and from there I see blaze started. I hurridly come out and unplugged everything from the outlets."

Courtney Weatherburne, reporter
"You had electrical problems before in the past?"

Gregorio Thomas August, Home Owner
"None at all. I think its just off an extension cord that caused it."

All August and his neighbours could have done was watch as the fire torched $125,000 worth of assets including the house.

August’s brother’s house which is right next to his only got minor damages.

Albert Neal, Resident
"Mine was just the washing machine that stays outside. The window you can see the felt that I had there just burn off. The window they patched it up."

Fire personnel could have only done so much because the truck could not get into the yard.

This building blocked the entrance so the firefighters had to pull the hose through this little alley to get the house but it was too late by the time they got there.

Gregorio Thomas August, Home Owner
"Due to that structure. If that structure wasnt there, it could have been saved."

Today, the decades old abandoned cement structure was finally demolished, but residents say it has been a great inconvenience for many years and it should have been done years ago.

Brion Young, Resident
"The structure was affecting us very much, to the extent where we cant even drained up septic tanks behind here. I am one of them that my septic at the moment as we speak needs attention and beside the septic issue which is a health hazard in the neighborhood, we also have in the event of any medical emergency and we require an ambulance service behind here we cant get it. My mother had felt ill several times and its very challenging getting her out from through this little alley. Just recently my cousin's mom died and it was also another challenge getting our loved one out from here. So today we feel victorious."

And that victory came after Albert Neal agreed to pay the owner of the structure, who is also his cousin, $4,000 as compensation for the demolition.

Albert Neal, Resident
"This thing that see they are demolishing there I went to jail 2 times already for it. The owner is my first cousin. He had permission to build a temporary thing there that could be removed. All of a sudden now minister say he has title for the place. He own the place and I say well sir if I have to continue going to jail for it, I am going. So I made him an offer yesterday while in the police station. I told him this is what I will give you. No politics involved. This is what I am going to offer you. He accepted it, I wrote up the memorandum of understanding, took it to a JP and he signed it."

While residents will finally enjoy ease of movement, it is a shame that it took such a tragedy for the building to be taken down.

Albert Neal, Resident
"We always say something has to go wrong in Belize in other words to correct something. This is it here. My brother lost his house."

But the brothers can’t dwell on that, right now, the focus is to re-build.

Albert Neal, Resident "We already start making the estimate right now. we start making plans for how much blocks, sand and steel, but firts we wated to get over with that thing."

4 adults and 2 kids lived at the house. The family says NEMO will assist them in rebuilding.