A fire in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye in the early hours of Sunday morning has left a number of people homeless.
Maria Novelo reporting
“Twelve hours after an early morning fire ripped through five structures at the corner of Chicken and Tarpon Streets in the airstrip area of San Pedro Town, over two dozen people watched the smoldering embers of their possessions. The blaze erupted shortly before one on Sunday morning while the neighborhood residents were fast asleep.
Neri Madera – Homeowner
“My little brother came up and said wake up your husband because there is fire. We came down the steps and he opened the salon and they opened all the windows. By that time I think the fire engine could have saved it, they took like an hour to get here.”
Maria Novelo - Reporter
Where did the fire start?
Neri Madera – Homeowner
"From inside; the fire started from the back.”
The crackling noises grew louder as the fire spread rapidly into the other structures.
Patty Arceo – Neighbor
“What woke me up was broken bottles, I thought there was a fight in front of the neighbor and so I went outside and then I saw the neighbors with their children shouting fire, fire, fire and so I came back home and picked up my five year old and we started to run back and forth and later on I took her to my sister’s house. I came back here to give assistance to the neighbors because they are all my neighbors, we all grew up here and then my cousin Ines Sutherland was there with her kids, Nery was here with about nine families, Amancy is back there with all her young kids and we have other businesses back here. Later on about 15 minutes later the fire truck comes in but unfortunately by the time they rolled up the hose, and the water and then later on no water pressure, it was a problem.”
And while the response time from the fire officials seemed sluggish, authorities were down to one man at one point. Shortly after, other off-duty fire volunteers joined in to fight the massive flames. The structure and walls of the homes were literally disintegrated by the intense flames, leaving nine families displaced.
Neri Madera – Homeowner
“I have my three families, my daughter and my two sons with their families, I have three rooms that I rent downstairs and my little brother who stays in the salon.”
When the occupants of the homes rushed out, and the fire kept consuming the structures, neighborhood residents formed bucket brigades to deter the inferno from consuming other nearby structures.
Patty Arceo – Neighbor
“Around the corner people started to shout because the fire started to go behind the other houses because there is a lot of family homes back here in the form of rooms but there was a group of ladies that were coming from a party and they formed a bucket brigade and they managed to save all the back neighborhood. We had two fire trucks, when one was working the other was giving trouble and when the other one was working the other was giving trouble; it definitely could have been worse. In a fire, seconds looks like hours because it is imperative that you control each and every second.”
The blaze ripped through the neighborhood like a wild fire, in close proximity to the home of Area Representative Manuel Heredia Junior. Heredia expressed his concern on the response time and pledged to take the matter to cabinet so as to equip the department with more human resources.
Manuel Heredia – Area Representative
“To my understanding it has to be, I don’t know if it a lack of training because I see them almost every evening going to do training, I see the vehicles running. When they came they were running good. What is the problem that they cannot get the fire under control fast is a question that needs to be addressed and definitely as the area representative of this island and this time it was right close to my doors, I feel that we need to look at what is happening because every time that a fire has happened in San Pedro that these types of things occur.”
Luckily, no one was injured, but painful to watch as the displaced families searched through the charred remains of what once was their home. Meanwhile, the community has been providing the families with assistance.
Patty Arceo – Neighbor
“We are asking the community of San Pedro to come and assist, we are starting a fundraising at Fugon’s to come and bring clothes that are usable that we can give to these families because they only came out with the shirt on their backs.” It is my intention to talk to the owner of the radio station and see how we can organize a radio thon. It has been done every time that we have had a fire and the response has been tremendous. Tomorrow I will speak with NEMO headquarters to see what can be done to alleviate the needs of these people.”
The families estimate a total loss of around three hundred thousand dollars and their buildings were not insured. The origin of the fire started from the kitchen area, and it is believed to have been due to an electrical short.
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