And we turn now to a story we promised you from last night...
Among the many duties carried out by firefighters are fire safety inspections. According to the law, all business establishments should get annual inspections by the National Fire Service. But our newsroom has received reports that there are members of the department in San Pedro who are soliciting business owners for a speedy inspection and approval.
One such officer is Assistant Divisional Officer Kenneth Mortis - who is no stranger to the media. He is the former Station Supervisor for the Belize City branch and has given numerous interviews. He was promoted and transferred to San Pedro late last year. And now, his name has come up in voice recordings and documents suggesting that he instructed another officer to collect what is referred to as "donations," but sent to his personal bank account.
Courtney Menzies took a look at these documents and has this story.
Firefighter:
"You want to give a donation to the department?"
Resort Manager:
"I already called the main office, they said I could just drop it off straight with them."
Firefighter:
"I'll give you this guy's name to call."
Resort Manager:
"We do stuff via bank transfer and cheque, we don't give cash anymore."
Firefighter:
"I'm just gonna give you his number and you can call because this is the new chief."
Resort Manager:
"What's his number?"
Firefighter:
"610-0585. Mr Kenneth."
Resort Manager:
"Oh yes, ADO I got him."
Firefighter:
"Yes, that's the man. You can transfer it to him."
This was a conversation between a San Pedro resort manager who needed a fire inspection and a firefighter who came by to perform it. At the end of the conversation, the firefighter asked for a donation to the San Pedro branch of the NFS.
He then forwarded this bank account number, belonging to recently promoted ADO Kenneth Mortis.
Following this inspection, the resort manager wrote to the branch's chief firefighter stating that the officer who went by claimed he needed to inspect all the rooms for BTB and then asked for a donation in exchange for the inspection letter. The manager realized that this was an inappropriate request and voice recorded the inspection, which he says was conducted "in a superficial manner."
Shortly after the inspection, the firefighter phoned Mortis and had him speak to the manager. During the call, which was also recorded, Mortis confirmed that the firefighter was working as his representative - but made no imposition, just a kind suggestion:
Mortis:
"You don't need to go over to the fire station, this is it. whatever you did with [redacted], you want to bless him with a coke or something, that's on you, it's in your hands."
Resort Manager:
"Alright sounds good, sir."
Reports suggest inspection hustles are not uncommon for some firefighters, particularly in San Pedro, where there are hundreds of resorts, hotels, restaurants, and bars that require a fire inspection before they can operate fully. At least two other establishments have reported similar incidents.
This letter from another establishment explained that in late 2023 they were experiencing delays getting their Fire Department No Objection Report and spoke with the same aforementioned firefighter. That officer went to their establishment and told the manager that he could speed up the process for $50.
A third establishment explained that a firefighter came by around the 2023 Christmas season asked for a donation to their party. They provided a case of mixed liquor and inquired about their Liquor License inspection which they had submitted a request for. The firefighter said he would check up on it but never got back to them. Two weeks later, two other officers went to the establishment and were unaware of the liquor donation.
The Station Supervisor, Orin Smith, wrote to the Fire Chief in December 2024 regarding the numerous complaints of inspections carried out by the particular firefighter. He said they were all signed and stamped by Mortis after instructing the branch that all fire inspections requests were to go through him and not the supervisor. Smith explained that he recommended a demotion for Mortis and dismissal for the officer, who had, around the time of the inspections, been charged for "obstruction."
Yesterday, the Minister of Disaster Risk Management was asked to clarify the situation, but all he said was that it was under investigation.
Andre Perez, Minister of Disaster Risk Management
"I don't want to go too deep in that, I know there is an investigation, we had a meeting myself and my CEO as well as the firefighters, obviously there are some issues within, I know personality issue. There is an issue of a power struggle of course but it came out of these meetings and of course the public service union was there, they heard and they realized that there was a situation that the firefighters want to speak directly to allegations but at this point in time there is an investigation ongoing and I don't want to comment on what is happening but certainly I've made it clear that in the fire department, anything as such, you should not be receiving any kind of funding, it's illegal."
Courtney Menzies:
"There are allegations that one of the fire fighters engaged in these illegal donations is a senior firefighter, if the investigation reveals that he is complicit, will he see sanctions, can he lose his job?"
Andre Perez, Minister of Disaster Risk Management
"Let me tell you something, leave the chips where they fall but this goes in the hands of the Public Service Commission, all of these things. So when these come and the reports follow, then that's not in my hands, it goes to the Public Service Commission because these are all public service officers so the investigation, yes of course, we have to do the right thing, and if that comes out, then so be it."
After reaching out to Mortis for comment, he said quote, "I heard there's a letter conjured up from within the San Pedro fire station and sent to various big wigs from different ministerial department… As for me personally, I haven't seen the letter… I don't know if I'm in a position to comment much less [give] an interview [because] I honestly haven't been informed." End quote.
We furnished Mortis with the documents he said he had not seen before but he did not comment further.
