7 News Belize

Former McAfee Home Burns Again
posted (August 7, 2019)

For the second time, the building that was formerly the home and headquarters for John McAfee in Belize burned down today.

The structure, which sits at the southern approach to the Tower Hill Bridge on the banks of the New River is both famous and infamous as the first place where McAfee put down roots in Belize sometime around 2009.  From there he staged his exploits, and set up a lab - which was supposed to be doing research on natural antibiotics.

That's also the location that the GSU raided in 2012, sending McAfee on a paranoid tailspin which lasted for years.  The building burned down in 2013, as the result of a bushfire.

And, 6 years later, this afternoon it caught fire again. 

CTV-3 REPORTS THAT the fire started sometime around 2:00 p.m. a few feet away from the McAfee riverside estate. It is believed that a cigarette butt was thrown in the area near a bushy lot and eventually caught on fire where it then spread in the direction of the estate, causing one of its structures to catch on fire.

We understand that the owner, Tom Baker, was at home at the time and upon observing the fire in the area, he quickly called the Orange Walk Fire Department for assistance. By the time they arrived, the fire was already seeking to spread towards Baker's home, and due to a limited quantity of water, firefighters were unable to extinguish the fire on time resulting in a major loss of items.

No one was injured. We'll have more on this tomorrow.

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