7 News Belize

Fire Victim Says Dimples Better Than Wrinkles
posted (June 15, 2020)
There was a fire over the weekend - and an elderly man lost his home.

76-year-old retiree Luis Belisle went from enjoying a weekend lie-in to running for his life.

This morning he returned to the charred home to see what, if anything, he'll be able to salvage. Cherisse Halsall has the story.

This man is lucky to be alive after a fire engulfed his home and devoured all his worldly possessions. And this morning while surveying the damage he took a moment to recount his terrible ordeal.

Luis Belisle Sr., Fire Victim
"I said to myself today being Sunday I don't have anything special to do and I went into a little slumber so to speak and probably about half an hour to 45 minutes there. I felt a sudden heat coming in my direction and I opened my eyes and when I saw in the corner of the home a ball of flame. You know at that time I got jumpy panicky but not so panicky and I wonder and then I saw the fire and I went into the kitchen and got a 5 gallon of purified water that I had there threw it on the fire but instead of extinguishing it blazed more so I made an attempt to go to my bedroom right which wasn't too far from where the fire, where I saw he fire but as soon as I approached the room, the door to the room a big, what do you call it, heat wave like came and stopped me and I couldn't deal with it so I…..I went around the other side."

"It is a terrible experience indeed because you know I know about fires and the way this fire, this fire It gave me the appearance like it was meant for me. I stood my ground and I said, well you are not gonna take me, dig, my life is valued more than, you know. So I went outside to the verandah and I went down just to find the neighbors coming to enquire what was the matter."

The neighbor, Frederick Morter saw the fire, and ran toward the flames to rescue Belisle:

Fredrick Mortar, Neighbor
"I was sitting down on the verandah and I saw smoke coming over the top of the building. So I waited a few seconds and then I saw the smoke get thicker. Then I started to yell for him. Then I came running out and when I reached the gate he was just coming out and I saw everything was in smoke so I was frightened. Same time he was coming out. I told him come down, come down. He came down."

"If he hadn't been coming out then I would have ran inside to see if I could help him. Because the smoke was already thick at the door but then suddenly I saw him burst out from the door so I said thank God."

But once the authorities got there, they were, in the words of their station supervisor "cautious to act."

Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor
"On our arrival BEL technicians did not arrive on the scene as yet to de-energize the building of its electricity so that we the firemen could have moved around freely and we did not want to put our men at risk so what Mr. Belisle viewed as sluggishly we view as moving with caution."

"We know for a fact that the building while it had electricity we have ruled that out as a probable cause for the fire, we ruled out the fact of any chance of an unattended stove seeing that Mr. Belisle wasn't doing any cooking. So that is something that we have to go back to the field and see if we can come up with a cause."

And while the Fire dept is still on it the police had a clearer answer.

Supt Alejandro Cowo, OC - CIB
"It was mentioned to police the possibility that the fire was caused by a candle that was left inside of one of the rooms the nigh."

That's little comfort to Belisle's son who told us how difficult it was for him to get the news of what happened knowing how much worse it could have been.

Dean Belisle, Son of Fire Victim
"I feel bad because I was working the night, I work at Karl Heusner and I got the call at like minutes to 6 the morning saying that his house is on fire and you know I was just thinking about everything because it's just him that's here and it's my dad so it's really difficult."

But Belisle, a jovial character, Says he's taking things as they come, being grateful to a few friends who have pledged to help out and trusting that things will work out.

Luis Belisle Sr., Fire Victim
"Why worry and have wrinkles when you can smile and have dimples. Life is made for living and each and every one of us has some way down the line where we find these kinds of situations so what would you do, that won't solve the problem, and after you have done your best what else could you do I throw my hands up to heaven and wait for a reply from the {laughs} that's all I can say, ma'am."

As you heard from the station supervisor, Investigations into the cause of the fire continue. And if you'd like to offer any assistance to Luis Belisle you can reach out to his son Dean at 629-1535.

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

7 News Belize