News reached The San Pedro Sun office that there was a fire at Caye Caulker. Two houses were completely destroyed on the end of Park Street and Seaside and one structure received partial damage. Three families lost everything. Two persons have been detained. The San Pedro Sun is on the scene and we will have more details throughout the evening.
from San Pedro Sun blog

We got an arson over there?

Another one? It's only a few days since there was a bad one there. And I also heard recently about a severe arson attack on a business in Placencia, seemingly by competitors.

I could be wrong, but I was at the fire running around dumping peoples trash cans out so they could be used as water buckets,,seemed the smaller buckets were less productive...I only saw one house burn..another house was emptied of all its belongings but did not burn. Several hundred people were doing the bucket line..AGAIN...it seemed to be a losing fight..the house was ablaze..no fire dept...the pump and hoses showed up manned by a tourist and his wife..another hose on the side manned by local residents..they contained the fire..just at that time I saw the first official fireman on the scene..decked out in boots,fireproof body suit, hat, oxygen tank strapped to his back and gas mask,,and I wonder how long it took for them to get dressed..while the community once again had to risk their safety to put out a fire,,,and again the sad loss of property,and things that cant be replaced.,and of course after the fire was out I gathered up the trash cans put them back and put the trash back in them...with hundreds of buckets and cans everywhere I am not sure if I matched them up right!!!! Another tragic day...

No volunteer fire dept.???
Why not???????

In any case, aren't there just two members of the volunteer fire service there? The chances of a rapid and effective deployment with a core of just two seem to me most unlikely. In order to be able to deploy two people rapidly at any time, in my view you need at least six people to be trained and ready. If there aren't the funds to pay specialists then the local residents have to become more involved.

There are two professional government firefighters on staff...any others must be community volunteers.

Cooper you and the other villagers have done heroic things these past few months. No doubt everybody is stressed to the limits of their energy. You are going through the growing pains that San Pedro went through and continues to experience.

You have to be a strong community, count on yourselves a lot while exerting pressure on government to help. It is a tough struggle but you have to do it to keep your community together.

So, so sorry to hear this terrible news on the heels of last week's fire.

Thanks for being there and being able to help! God Bless.

We agree. I suggest maybe six volunteers need to be nominated and then suitably trained, so that they can be deployed maybe one official firefighter plus two or three volunteers. It is simply not possible for just two people to provide an adequate service 24/7.

From this video it seems that the Caye Caulker comes together as a strong community and becomes its own volunteer fire department.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z-YegWYzSY
It was so awful to watch this. My heart goes out to Caye Caulker and the families who lost their homes.
I just remembered that I had my first kiss in that house many many years ago

heartbreaking. We're all thinking of you guys over there in Caye Caulker.

The fire started between 12:30 and 12:40 this afternoon at the end of Park Street near the seaside in the split areas in Caye Caulker Village. Sergeant Leslie Wade is the Head of the Caye Caulker Police Department and explains more.

Sergeant Leslie Wade; Head, Caye Caulker Police Department

"Shortly after 12:35 this afternoon we received word of a fire along the lagoon side next to the Smith's residence and as a result we responded along with the Fire Department. On our arrival there we observed a small wooden structure engulfed in flames and also another wooden structure which is off the ground also on fire. With the assistance of the fire Department, the community at large and tourists we managed to get the fire under control. At present the police are investigating, we have two people at the police station for questioning."

Jorge Aldana, Reporter

Sergeant I understand that just before the fire there was an argument. Two children were locked inside a building and were later rescued by some residents.

Sergeant Leslie Wade; Head, Caye Caulker Police Department

"I will not comment on that part. We are investigating the matter and as soon as we conclude our investigations that information will be made known."

At least ten people are homeless. Frand Renolds occupied one of the buildings along with his family and spoke to Love News following the fire.

Frank Renolds; Fire Victim

"We were getting ready to go fishing. We left the house but we smelt smoke so we checked to see if there was anything that had been lit in the yard; there was nothing lit. We made our way to the pear and when we got to the boat my common-law-wife who also lives with me with the three month old son and my two daughters, one four and the other seven, they started to yell for me. When we went back we saw the house on fire from the south side and so we tired to take the children out of the house. At this point we realized that there were two children next door, they were screaming for help so we went to help them and tried to let them out because the door was locked. We shook the lock twice and the door was open. We lost everything, the whole family lost everything. The family in the back also lost everything because I understand that the father went to pick up his other child from school."

The fathers name is Silveno Rosado and he and his family is also left homeless. The other unoccupied building was owned by Henny Agilar and used as a motel. Fire officials declined an interview as the matter is still under investigation but according to residents the pump fell into the water causing a delay in the fire fighting. No one was hurt in the fire. None of the buildings were insured. The total estimated loss is over $200 thousand Belize dollars.

pictures from San Pedro Sun

Two homes burnt due to faulty water pump in Caye Caulker

Two families in Caye Caulker will be spending Christmas without their homes following a midday fire. Fortunately, no one was hurt but the families lost all their belongings. The Fire Department experienced mechanical problems and could not contain the blaze from spreading to an adjacent house which was also destroyed. If that sounds familiar, it's because only two weeks ago, another fire caused over seven hundred thousand dollars in damages in Caye Caulker when the Fire Department's pump again malfunctioned. Here is News Five's Marion Ali with that story from La Isla Carinosa.

Marion Ali, Reporting
Chief Firefighter on Caye Caulker, Mitchell Lewis, told News Five that they got a call at twelve-fifteen this afternoon about a duplex on fire.

Mitchell Lewis, Chief Fireman, Caye Caulker
"Two different families live in the house. The fire started in the bedroom in the southeast corner of the house. The family that lives in front, when I interview Mr. Frank Reynolds, he said he smell smoke so he come outside fi come si if any one ah ih neighbour house deh pan fire cause he smell di smoke. He noh believe dat dah di next apartment right next to him was burning."

Fire officials quickly responded, but mechanical problems allowed the blaze to quickly spread to a second house. It is a problem Lewis says needs urgent attention.

Mitchell Lewis
"The pump mi di give we wah lee hard start so di people weh di help fi try turn di pump, when ih get it start dehn mi still deh round di pump. Di pier give way and di pump fell in the water. When it fell in the water, it shut down. So we mi have wah next standby pump here. We came back at the station, we got the next pump and went back. We start dah one and den we start fight di fire."

Marion Ali
"By this time now the family had lost most if not all of their belongings."

Mitchell Lewis
"Yes, by this time the house was already destroyed. Yes it displayed the same problem when the five buildings burned the other day. The firefighter who was working, it was raining and the pump got wet from the rain and that what mek di pump was hard to start."

The two buildings belonged to Shedrock Ash and his family who lost everything. The family is upset over the dysfunctional pump.

Shedrock Ash, Fire Victim
"Everything is gone; everything is gone. I mean all the furniture, everything is gone. What they need to do is try to get some better equipment out here."

Saturino Sotz, Helped Fight Fire
"The pump cannot function so I could seh too that the pump is totally-it's not the fireman fault, it's the pump because when the pump is not working the fireman cannot do nothing and the house is on fire. The fire is not waiting for nothing."

Although the cause of the blaze has not yet been determined, Caye Caulker police are questioning a few of the occupants of the duplex. Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.

To add insult to injury, the pier caved in under the weight of a crowd trying to assist. Luckily no one got hurt.

Channel 5

I was on the south side of the fire..at The Animal Shelter about 12.05..I looked at the time and the fire had started to burn the rental house..so many people were running around at that time I did not know the tragic situation of the homes of the families...but I wonder if its proper for our fire department to be lending out its pumps to construction sites for days on end..mabe lending is not the right word,,might it be renting$$$$$. If a fire department isnt checking their equipment daily to make sure its working...cause they dont have it..then thats a big problem..

Second Fire At Caye Caulker

Yet another fire ravaged two houses in the small village of Caye Caulker which was shortly plagued by a fire just two weeks ago and once again due to the lack of proper equipment the Caye Caulker Fire Department was unable to salvage these homes.

Ms. Eujenia Heredia, owner of one of the houses that was burnt, related to us what occurred on Friday, December, 4. "The fire started, I believe, about midday at my cousin's house and by the time I got here my house, which I had for rent, was already on fire," commented Ms. Heredia. "Fortunately no one was staying at the house but we lost everything. I estimate a total loss of $100,000 and the building was no insured."

Acting Fire Chief of Caye Caulker Fire Department, Mitchell Lewis, stated that they got a call at about 12:15 p.m. of a small bungalow yellow house on fire. Lewis further stated that upon their arrival they set up the water pump on a pier but due to the weight of the pump and persons the pier gave in and the pump fell into the water.

"The pump fell into the water and did not want to restart, so we had to come back to the fire station to pick up our back up pump but by the time we returned to the scene the second house was already on fire," stated Fire Chief Lewis.

The fire seemed to have started in a bedroom in the southeast corner of the house belonging to Mrs. Rosado. There were two occupants in the house at the time; Mr. Frank Renalds and his three children and Mr. Sylvino Rosado with his common-law-wife and three children - a total of ten persons lost all their belongings in this fire.

As to what caused the fire, the case remains undetermined because according to Mr. Lewis he could not carry out proper investigation at the scene. "By the time the fire was put out it was already getting dark so I told house owners I would return to make proper investigation early the next morning," commented Lewis. "When I returned the following day everything was moved and our investigations were fruitless and the cause was labeled as undetermined."

Mr. Renalds reported a loss of $11,000, Mr. Rosado - $5,000 and Ms. Heredia a loss of $100,000 - a total loss of $116,000. The Village Council is collecting donations for these families. Anyone wishing to help can contact the Caye Caulker Village Council. Ms. Eujenia Heredia provided an Atlantic Bank # 210470783 for anyone wishing to render help to her family.

Ambergris Today

a very sad day well done with the pics marty i wish them all the luck for the new year.