There was a fire in the Port Loyola Area on Sunday morning in the city. The head of household, 32 year old Julie Thurton said she had just gone to the shop to buy and when she came back, the mother of 6 found that it was too late to save anything….
Julie Thurton, fire victim
"I will be real, I wasn't even here, I went to buy. I left my brother-in-law with my kids, my niece and my nephew at home. And when I was coming in the taxi my oldest daughter told me that the house was on fire, I asked her which one and she told me the back house. It was when I was coming in the taxi; I nearly reached by where I live when I saw the blaze of fire. When I reached there I could not save anything from the house. The house was nearly flat on the ground already when I got here."
"All I could have done was cried out 'my house' the entire house was burning a long with a part of my sister's house."
Jules Vasquez Reporting
Julie Thurton had to be relieved by one of her six children as she called relatives with the awful news that her home had burned.
This mother was inconsolable and with good reason - the family had lost everything save for a few belongings on the side of Unity Blvd.
Ernest Dominguez, the Station Supervisor for Belize City outlined the circumstances:
Ernest Dominguez, Station Supervisor, Belize City
"On arrival at the scene we found a wooden structure approximately 24 x 30 engulf in flames. Next to it was another wooden structure that had already started to catch fire. The crew responded within 4 minutes of the call and extinguished the structure and manage to save the other house from igniting."
But Thurton's home was completely destroyed - and she believes someone set the fire; fire investigators agree:
ERNEST DOMINGUEZ, Station Supervisor, Belize City
"The investigation so far reveals that the fire had been ignited by someone. However who and why is unknown. There is many different ways the fire could have started but we don't want to speculate on who and why. This fire started in the rear bedroom which is the north eastern portion of the building and in that room had a heavy fire load; that's clothes and different stuff. The house didn't have any electricity and there was no stove or anything nearby."
And while finding out who set the fire will be far more difficult, for this family of 7, the difficulty is already upon them.
The home was the property of Julie Thurton's mother Falet Thurton. The value of the house is unknown and was not insured.
