AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Belize Life News Oh no! Raul's Rose Garden is gone!

An institution in Belize-Raul's Rose Garden burnt!

been hearing rumors of that since morning.... so its true! lotsa witty comments all day long from friends that i cannot quote unfortunately....
like... that old calypso song, "p***y catch afire"
:>

recent pic....
//AmbergrisCaye.com/photogallery/110124.html

link to a Raul's Admirers Club here

https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=92659877521

and one of its predecessors:

//AmbergrisCaye.com/photogallery/110208.html

Well at least he still has the Boatyard!

I think the biggest issue here is that apparently the fire department arrived with at least one empty tanker truck and hoses that popped off when water pressure hit them.

They had lots of hoses laid out on the highway and assume they were pumping from the river across the highway.

The Rose Garden Gutted By Fire

Raul's Rose Garden - it's the best-known brothel in Belize - and tonight it is no more� The iconic establishment known far and wide - which its owners call an entertainment center - burned down at dawn today and 7news was on the scene:�

Jules Vasquez Reporting
It was a landmark, an institution, Raul's Rose Garden at mile eight on the northern highway, but today the trademark fa�ade crumbled, and its just one more brunt out shell the insides entirely gutted - left to a mangled help of smoldering embers and gnarled sheets of zinc - no hint of the high times had inside these walls 7 nights a week.

The product of 30 years of occupation by Raul Magana - the namesake and proprietor who first opened the doors in February of 1981:

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"It's totaled."

Magana says he got the call just before 5:00 that the building was on fire. Magana reached shortly after it was already too late:

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"I observe the entire building was engulf in fire."

Jules Vasquez
"What was the fire response?"

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"Well I came here just before 5 this morning and it was after 6 o' clock that the water start to pour."

Jules Vasquez
"So it took over an hour at least."

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"Over an hour at least."

Ted Smith, Ag. Fire Chief
"From the time the fire develops until I arrive is far less than a hour. From the time we were aware of the fire until I arrive was far less than an hour and one truck has already exhausted its tank of water while the other truck was trying to get a lift. There was some difficulty with the other truck to get a lift, for some reason one of the suction from the truck wasn't properly tight."

The place had closed between 2:30 and 3:00. It had 33 rooms - all of them occupied and the fire started from the center at the rear of the building.

Most of the women who occupy the rooms - were not there since Monday is the only night when there is no dancing at Raul's.

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"At the time there were a few of the employees there. I would say around 15 people."

Jules Vasquez
"But no one was hurt."

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"No one was hurt because the security had time to get everyone out."

But none of the tenants - mostly women managed to save anything.

Now Magana is not sure he will rebuild this institution:

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"Well it's definitely a profitable business. I guess everyone would like me to build it back to continue the business. It was really one of the only entertainment center and we had a large cross section of clienteles. I have to wait and see what will happen."

Magana says he had half a million dollars invested in the business; it was insured. In its early days Raul's was popular with British soldiers and after their withdrawal in the 90's - it has been heavily patronized by Belizeans.

And while you might think that the establishment's male patrons will suffer most, Magana told us that in the past two years he's seen a shift in demographics and 70% of his customers are now women.

Channel 7

The Rose Garden Gutted By Fire

Raul's Rose Garden - it's the best-known brothel in Belize - and tonight it is no more� The iconic establishment known far and wide - which its owners call an entertainment center - burned down at dawn today and 7news was on the scene:�

Jules Vasquez Reporting
It was a landmark, an institution, Raul's Rose Garden at mile eight on the northern highway, but today the trademark fa�ade crumbled, and its just one more brunt out shell the insides entirely gutted - left to a mangled help of smoldering embers and gnarled sheets of zinc - no hint of the high times had inside these walls 7 nights a week.

The product of 30 years of occupation by Raul Magana - the namesake and proprietor who first opened the doors in February of 1981:

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"It's totaled."

Magana says he got the call just before 5:00 that the building was on fire. Magana reached shortly after it was already too late:

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"I observe the entire building was engulf in fire."

Jules Vasquez
"What was the fire response?"

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"Well I came here just before 5 this morning and it was after 6 o' clock that the water start to pour."

Jules Vasquez
"So it took over an hour at least."

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"Over an hour at least."

Ted Smith, Ag. Fire Chief
"From the time the fire develops until I arrive is far less than a hour. From the time we were aware of the fire until I arrive was far less than an hour and one truck has already exhausted its tank of water while the other truck was trying to get a lift. There was some difficulty with the other truck to get a lift, for some reason one of the suction from the truck wasn't properly tight."

The place had closed between 2:30 and 3:00. It had 33 rooms - all of them occupied and the fire started from the center at the rear of the building.

Most of the women who occupy the rooms - were not there since Monday is the only night when there is no dancing at Raul's.

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"At the time there were a few of the employees there. I would say around 15 people."

Jules Vasquez
"But no one was hurt."

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"No one was hurt because the security had time to get everyone out."

But none of the tenants - mostly women managed to save anything.

Now Magana is not sure he will rebuild this institution:

Raul Magana, Owner, Raul's Rose Garden
"Well it's definitely a profitable business. I guess everyone would like me to build it back to continue the business. It was really one of the only entertainment center and we had a large cross section of clienteles. I have to wait and see what will happen."

Magana says he had half a million dollars invested in the business; it was insured. In its early days Raul's was popular with British soldiers and after their withdrawal in the 90's - it has been heavily patronized by Belizeans.

And while you might think that the establishment's male patrons will suffer most, Magana told us that in the past two years he's seen a shift in demographics and 70% of his customers are now women.

Channel 7

Raul's roses yell fire and garden burns to the ground

The Fire Department headed to the Northern Highway around five thirty this morning after they received frantic calls from various persons. Raul's Rose Garden, the famous brothel, was up in flames. All that was left by the time the flames consumed the interior of the concrete structure, was debris. And if you are wondering, the patrons had left, but the roses were in deep slumber inside building when the fire broke. Fortunately, there was no damage to life or limb. News Five's Isani Cayetano reports.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

Patrons of Raul's Rose Garden are tonight without a place for adult entertainment as the popular brothel near mile eight on the Northern Highway went up in smoke during an early morning fire. The identifiable flower-patterned paint job on its outside had quickly turned the building into a landmark for motorists making their commute to and from the city. The business, on the other hand, was famous for wild parties. But it all came to a fiery end around five a.m. when security personnel Keith McNabb was awakened by the commotion inside.

Keith McNabb, Security, Raul's Rose Garden

"Everybody was asleep so and like the fire woke up like the first, the occupants closest to the room where the fire started off and it blocked off one of the exits so we had to evacuate everybody through the restroom area and everybody got out safely, you know that's about it. It started in the middle right here and then it just spread from there throughout the middle part and went to the back. It just flamed up everywhere."

While McNabb was able to safely evacuate its occupants there was very little that could have been done to extinguish the blaze. Despite efforts from the fire department the building was completely gutted leaving in its wake scattered sheets of zinc everywhere. The plastering on the concrete walls has flaked as a result of the intense heat.

Raul Magana, Proprietor, Raul's Rose Garden

"I received a call around five o'clock this morning that the place was on fire. I immediately called the police and the police told me that someone [had] already called them so they called the fire engine. When I got here I met the police, I met the fire engine and the rest is history."

According to McNabb they had only retired a few hours earlier when he heard the frantic screams of his colleagues from an adjacent room.

Keith McNabb

"At first I thought it was somebody who was inside the place robbing the place [or] sticking up the people but when I opened the door smoke came in so I knew automatically it was a fire. I ran down to the end of the corridor here to down there to check to see who was inside there. It was only like three females and they were locked [up] in this side So I just took them around, opened the entrance right here and let them out."

What were once beds are now singed lumber. There is debris all over its interior. Businessman Raul Magana Sr. established Rose Garden over thirty years ago and since then it became a premier attraction for those seeking nocturnal delight.

Raul Magana

"I opened in February 1981. It wasn't as big as it is now but that's when I started."

Isani Cayetano

"Do you believe that this may have been a case of arson? Do you know if it's an electrical fire or what the cause of it [was] based on preliminary investigation by the fire authorities?"

Raul Magana

"No. We don't know what caused the fire. We know for sure the fire started in the office area, by the office where we have some of the rooms located. That's where we saw the smoke and the night time security took everyone out and it just burned as quick as they could think about it."

Amongst the rubble were two poodle puppies. Inside the metal bucket being carried away here are the charred remains of one. The fire, McNabb believes, may have been the result of an electrical short.

Keith McNabb

"I guess it was probably one of the wires in some one of the rooms or maybe a fan or something that was left on. I can't say because the fire prohibited us from looking."

Luckily for its owner the concrete structure was under financial protection against this particular type of loss.

Raul Magana

"Well the building is insured. It's insured with Home Protectors Insurance but that's the only insurance I have."

Isani Cayetano

"Speak to us now on loss to business. How does this affect you in terms of your ability to conduct your business as usual?"

Raul Magana

"Well the building is definitely totaled, everything is burnt out. So for me to reinvest in it I have to start from scratch."

Isani Cayetano

"And an estimated value?"

Raul Magana

"It's valued; the real value is around eight hundred thousand [dollars]."

An investigation into the cause of the fire is being conducted by the National Fire Service. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.

According to family members, they intend to rebuild but change the line of business.

Channel 5

---

Raul's Rose Garden burns down

Raul's Rose Garden, one of Belize's most well-known brothels, caught fire at around 5 a.m. today, and at about 2 hours later, burned to the ground. The Garden, commonly referred to as "Ocho" due to its location at Mile 8 on the Northern Highway, was established about 30 years ago, and reputedly was worth approximately $500,000.

Raul Maga�a, the owner and namesake of the establishment, told the media that he received a call at around 5 a.m. that a fire had started in the vicinity of one of the rooms that is near an office in the center of the building.

He said that the establishment had closed at around 3 p.m., so there was no one in the vicinity of the fire to explain why it started. He said that it was the security guard on duty, Keith McNab, who called the Fire Department.

According to Maga�a, the firemen arrived about an hour later, but by that time, the blaze had already spread to most of the vulnerable areas. The firemen couldn't save the building, and as a result, it was completely destroyed.

At this time, police and the Fire Department do not have a definite reason as to the cause of the fire, but the security guard suspects something electrical was the reason.

There was no one injured, but the damage to the building is serious enough that it will need rebuilding. Maga�a puts the value of the establishment at around $500,000, and it was ensured with Home Protector Insurance Company. The police have said that while the building was insured, the contents were not.

Maga�a has indicated that he may rebuild the establishment, but change the line of business.

Amandala

POPULAR BUSINESS DESTROYED BY FIRE

It has been around for the past thirty years offering especially the male specimen adult entertainment, but today it is no more. Raul's Rose Garden which stood at Mile eight on the Northern Highway was destroyed by an early fire today. The blaze was reported at around five this morning by the time it was extinguished at shortly after seven, everything inside had been totally wiped out. Love News was on the scene and spoke with Mirna Magana, daughter of the owner, Raul Magana. She told us that the Fire Department was late and inept.

Mirna Magana - Daughter of fire victim
"They took about an hour and a half to get here and before that they did not have any water, instead going right across the river from this lace they went all the way to Manatee Lookout to fill up their truck; every minute the hose was bursting. They could have prevented all of this, at least half could have burnt but the other half should have been saved but they were not ready to save anything. A lot of money, jewels, the girl's personal documents, passports and so on, money, they save their syndicate money, they lost a lot. One of the girls is at the hospital because she was trapped because of the smoke but she is okay. The others ran out with towels; they have places they are staying."

Love News understands that the entertainers were all asleep when the fire broke out, which was about two hours after the business closed this morning. Fire officials are investigating the cause of the fire.


LOVEFM