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That blaze sent the island into an emergency mode with about 50 to 75 residents forming a bucket brigade to try and put it out. It has displaced 14 people: 8 men, 3 women, and 3 children. But, there was one casualty; one man perished in the blaze. Our news team was on the island for most of the day today, and Daniel Ortiz has that story:

Daniel Ortiz reporting
The Independence Holiday celebrations on the island of Caye Caulker were marred in the most terrible way when a major fire broke out at an apartment complex on Avenida Langosta.

It gutted the homes of 10 families, which is already a very traumatic experience. However, in the aftermath, first responders were further disheartened to learn that Elmer Chub, a resident from the Village of San Jose in the Orange Walk District, perished in the blaze.

It happened shortly after midnight, in the early morning hours of Saturday. Residents were in enjoying the sights of Independence Day fireworks when they learned about the deadly fire.

Seleny Villanueva-Pott - Chairlady, Caye Caulker Village Council
"Everybody was out at the park. Basically all the village council members were out at the park ushering in Independence Day. The entire community was out there looking on at the fireworks display that was going on. It was maybe 23 minutes into the fireworks display that we were alerted of a fire. When most of us got to the scene, the fire was about maybe 8 minutes into everything happening. Wires were being burnt. Live wires were hanging and popping already."

Shawn Herrera - Tenant/Fire Victim
"I went to watch the fireworks. The night we were having some drinks, all of us. The same homeboy who died in the fire, all of us were drinking about 8-8:30. At around 9-9:30, everybody said, 'It's fireworks time'."

Japy Perez - Tenant/Fire Victim
"Imagine looking back, 20 minutes being at the beach, looking back, the house is burning down. I have no words to say. I'm speechless."

Reporter
"But at least, you and your family are alive today."

Japy Perez
"Thanks to God, and thanks to my boss' wife."

Shawn Herrera
"I just stood there, lost, not knowing what to do because I know I have a lot of things in my house that I just got from Courts. All of those gone. And I said, 'Mein, more pressure came down on me'. I am just trying to buy my things to make my home look good."

The would-be block fire damaged multiple structures in the immediate vicinity, but the biggest impact was on Fidel Magaña and his tenants: 8 men, 3 women, and 3 children. These are all his employees, their spouses, and their kids. His home and apartment was completely destroyed by the raging flames

Magana told us that he woke up to the choking smell of smoke all around him, and first responders had to rescue him through a bedroom window on the upper flat, which was about 14 feet high.

Fidel Magana - Fire Victim/Landlord
"They pulled me out of the building from upstairs, when the place almost went down. I was just saved by the bell, the way I feel, by God, you know."

"When I was in the building, and they called me. I wasn't hearing really because maybe the smoke that got into me was already taking me down. When they knocked on the window, and I get up, and I remember when I looked around, I saw the smoke, and I couldn't breathe. I said, well, I'm dead. I gave up. I nearly lay down on the bed, but my little nephew shouted at me, 'Don't do that! Wait' But then, I was conscious [of the fact] that I can't breathe. So, I saw the hole in the window. I pushed my head through it, and it was right from through there that they took me out."

Japy Perez - Tenant/Fire Victim
"I am glad [that] my wife came out with me because she doesn't like to go out. So, I appreciate that she accepted, thanks to my boss' wife, who loaned me a golf cart. If she didn't decide to lend me that golf cart, the story would have been different. She normally locks up and goes to sleep. And she sleeps hard, so I think if she was asleep, that smoke would have made her sleep harder. So, I really appreciate that move when my boss's wife did, which saved my family. That made a big..."

Reporter
"You could have lost her."

Japy Perez
"I could have lost her."

Reporter
"And then you said, your wife went with you, she took the baby as well, right?"

Japy Perez
"Yes, of course, we went together."

Reporter
"So, had she stayed, you could have lost them both."

Japy Perez
"I could have lost - this tragedy could have been bigger."

Elmer Chub, who worked on the island as a golf cart mechanic, was also one of the tenants of the apartment. Residents believed that everyone had evacuated in time. It wasn't until the clean-up effort the next day that his charred remains were found. His companion and fellow fire victim says that he chose forgo the fireworks display. he chose to go to bed, so that he could recover from the alcoholic drinks they indulged in earlier that evening in honor of Independence.

Shawn Herrera - Tenant/Fire Victim
"He didn't go. He stayed because he was drunk, and couldn't walk. So, the man went to sleep, and all of us went out to go see the fireworks. By the time the fireworks were done and we came back, we saw the big blaze. So many people were carrying buckets of water to try and put out the fire."

Seleny Villanueva-Pott - Chairlady, Caye Caulker Village Council
"I know a lot of people speak very highly of him. He was a very helpful young man, and willing to do anything - a very nice person, and I just want to wish my condolences to his family."

The Chairlady of the Village Council says that this deadly fire is a first for the island, and residents are treating it as a learning experience. They want to ensure that a tragedy like this one does not repeat itself. According to her, there were several failures which made this terrible situation even worse.

Seleny Villanueva-Pott - Chairlady, Caye Caulker Village Council
"What we later understood was that different members of the community jumped on the truck, and wanted to start the truck to help the firemen. And in that process, one of the levers for the water pump, from the fire truck, was broken. So, that fire truck was not able to serve us any use that night."

"When we saw the fire, and the lines were popping up, and dangling - live wires dangling - I went over to BEL and I asked them, could you please turn off the power. We're having a fire, and we need you turn off the electricity. The gentleman explained to me that he has protocols in place. He needs to get directives from the central office because they will dictate to him as to which phase of it must be done. I don't know if he couldn't get through with his superiors, but it took us about 20 to 23 minutes before the power was cut."

"Going forward, and I've met with BEL, and we are demanding now that we have linesmen on ground. Caye Caulker only has a small office with a small staff. And for emergencies, we really need men on ground that are able to give command immediately. In a fire, everybody knows that 20 minutes to 25 minutes is a lot of time lost, and lives being lost, and homes being lost in that short span."

"I think we're blessed. Caye Caulker is blessed because every other house within that area was concrete."

"This is a tourist destination, and we have to ensure that things are being done by protocol because we do not want to have losses of lives. This is the first for Caye Caulker, and we really wouldn't want to have a repeat of it going forward."

As you heard in our interview with the island's chairlady, the delay between BEL's central office and the Caye Caulker branch caused the firefighting efforts to also be delayed for over 20 minutes. That loss in that valuable time caused the blaze to continue uninterrupted.

Well, Belize Electricity Limited sent out a press release on the Independence Holiday itself.

They say, quote, "...(BEL) expresses sincere condolences to the family of the young man who perished in a fire on Caye Caulker early this morning… A team met today with the Chair of the Caye Caulker Village Council and Fire Department personnel to understand the circumstances of the fire. The Company is conducting its own investigation into the incident. The Company empathizes with the community and offers its support to the Caye Caulker Village Council as it works to garner assistance for the families who were displaced by the fire." End quote.

Also, to assist the families displaced by the fire itself, the NEMO activated the island's Community Disaster Response Team. Within 24 hours, they were able to deliver a few essentials, such as bedding, food packages, cooking equipment, and hygiene items. These items were delivered to the island with the help of the BDF and the Coast Guard. The chairlady tells us that the residents of the island are also making big efforts to help the fire victims with assistance in this time of need.