A family of four lost everything in a fire that happened around 11 this morning. Steve Miles and his wife had just left the house when it broke out. He explained that just before leaving, personnel from the Ministry of Health were fogging the home. He doesn't know for sure if that caused the fire, but he believes it may have sparked around the back of the house where the fire started.
And while he is not blaming anyone, his family now has to start over from scratch. We spoke to him today and he told us it was his neighbors that called him.
His grandson is 14 and his granddaughter is 6.
The family can be reached at phone numbers 615-6008 or 626-0645. Their Belize Bank account number will be posted on our Facebook page.
Kim Bautista from the vector control unit told us, quote, "Thermal fogging is a procedure whereby an insecticide is mixed with a solvent such as diesel or kerosene and is applied with a thermal fogger which exposes the solution to a hot element. The exposure of the solution to the element produces a fog of tiny microscopic droplets that target mosquitoes and other insects. It does not leave a residue that is flammable." End quote,
He added that while Miles' theory is not farfetched, it would have been immediately noticeable. However, he says that since the introduction of thermal fogging in the late 90's, there have been zero incidents of fires. And in August of this year, all officers received retraining in safe use and application of public health pesticides.
Bautista says he will have to request a copy of the findings from the fire service.
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