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Over the past three months, three men have perished in house fires. The most recent victim was trapped inside his house on Gibnut street last night, and the neighbors are quite shaken up after they heard his cries to get out - and they couldn't do anything to help. Jomarie Lanza visited the area today and here's what she gathered from Belize City's most recent fatal fire.

Before last night's Countrywide blackout, chaos had erupted on Gibnut Street, where residents and neighbors were forced to look on in distress as they heard the cries of an elderly man burning alive inside this very home. As the fire department combed through the rubble this morning. Fire station supervisor Kenneth Mortis shared with us what they managed to gather on this most recent blaze.

Kenneth Mortis, Fire Station Supervisor
"last night. At approximately 2 minutes to 11, which was a few minutes before the power outage, we received a call of a structural fire in progress on Gibnut Street. The information we received was a bit sketchy as it only stated a fire. We responded as per normal. We got into operation trying to extinguish and contain that blaze from creating further damage as well so you can see from the remains. it was just a few minutes beyond or towards the completion of the fire that our firefighting team discovered the remains of what was a human body and of course, the proper authorities, which will be the police department."

"They were informed of the findings and the body was retrieved after the fire was extinguished."

While the fire department managed to prevent the blaze from spreading to the other homes in the area, one resident told us that the event was quite traumatic for this neighborhood.

Eric Jones, Neighbour
"So while I was hearing that I heard the Landlord yelling help, call the police. But I ignored it I said let me mind my own business. But the lady kept on so I said, let me get up and go check. I opened my door, and I pushed out my head and I saw a big blazing and the neighbour next door is trying to bring the blaze down."

"I told my girl get up. I said get up this is a fire. So I started throwing the things them. So I turned on the faucet and I started throwing water. You know bucket after bucket. So doing that now, while I was throwing the water and whatever I came and I tried to assist the man to try and take out the man. The man was crying in there you know."

"The man was crying excessive to try and get out. I still have it in my head as I am speaking about it. So beside that, when he jumped over the fence and went to try and take out the man. I still went back to attempt take out my stuff. But I couldn't do anything else. Everything for me is destroyed totally you understand?"

The tenant Philip Cattouse, better known as Cutty, had spoken to his landlord moments before the fire erupted.

Voice of: Christina Bernard, Landlord
"Earlier in the night. He came home and he was intoxicated and I heard him, you know, cursing and thing. So I went to his room, to the room and I asked him, I said, what's the matter? Right? And he said, I'm trying to light this candle he said but I can't light it. I said, well do not light any candle."

"I said see a light here. You know, I said you could light the. He said, no, I don't want that. He said he will light his candle. I said no man, I don't want you to light any candle and he still insists on lighting the candles. Well I was thinking he outed it, but this, according to the outcome. He did not out it you know. Or maybe he outed it and lighted it back."

And true to the tale mortis says that they're leaning more towards an unattended candle, which could have been the cause of this fire.

Kenneth Mortis, Fire Station Supervisor
"We established that the fire started from within his compartment. We know the entire structure had no electricity. The hours of which he came home in accordance with his practice, it is reported that he probably had some alcohol beverages as he was socializing before he got home. The remains showed that both doors were locked from inside. It is a bit puzzling, so to speak, to try and establish the claims on the streets that he was physically abused and then stuffed in his house and set ablaze."

"We are not in a position to concretely say that that is the cause as the exact cause is still ongoing. However, like I said, that street theory cannot be supported by us the fire department. We're looking more towards him falling asleep in his conscious or semi-conscious state, probably leaving a candle on or something about the effect that could have contributed to the blaze."

Cattouse was in is mid 50's. We should note that in the 1980's Cattouse was a break dancing sensation in Belize and dominated the city's imagination.