6 buildings were destroyed and the village police station scorched in a major fire early this morning in Placencia. The fire occurred in the center of the tourist-friendly village and is believed to have started in a set of apartments around midnight. Within an hour, six buildings were on fire, a restaurant, an internet café, three gift stores, a cable provider's office, a boating store, and a 4 apartment building.
Placencia has no fire truck, and villagers came out, reportedly drew from a
well and burst a main to get water and then formed a bucket brigade to bring down the fire. The effort was key in containing the fire, because it was some time before the fire truck came from Independence Village, which is an hour away.
Due to the aggressive effort by the villagers and the prevailing winds, the village police station was spared, receiving only water damage. Fire investigators from Belize are investigating to see what was the cause of the fire.
