He told us this morning how the flames quickly destroyed his $115,000 investment in the apartment:

Bert Ramos
"Yesterday about 10:15 my neighbor shouted and tell me fire, fire, but I had felt like as the vice chairman they would just call me to say that something is happening, but when he said it was at the back of the building and I ran back here, I conscious that it is my building on fire. There was nothing I could have done, I just looked at it because it was already engulf in flames. Nobody wasn't at home. My little brother who work at Medical, he was out probably at his girlfriend's house, so everything for him got destroyed. The next tenant who was at the front is a workman who works with me and everything for him got destroyed. He can't even got clothes to work with morning. My daughter wasn't at home either, so everything for her got burnt up and like I said my father is in Dangriga, so all his things are also burnt up."

Daniel Ortiz
"Now sir, what's the value you would place on the total loss?"

Bert Ramos
"For the things in the rooms that have the 4 tenants, I couldn't tell you because I don't know what all they had, but for the building itself, I spend over $115,000 - $120,000 on just getting the building together, in rent condition because each one of the rooms have its own sewage and bath and bed and mattress, so all that got destroyed."

Daniel Ortiz
"Sir, how are you going to recover from this?"

Bert Ramos
"Well, all I have to say is I just have to hope and pray that something might come my way because it was never insured, so I can't depend on anything. I just have to say maybe something will happen from somewhere."

Those who would like to help Ramos or the 7 homeless persons can reach him at telephone number 660-1883.