7 News Belize

Fire Guts Family's Home
posted (August 3, 2012)
Tonight a Belize City family is homeless after their two storey wooden home was burnt down last night. Fire officials responded to the scene around 11:45 at number 7 Raccoon Street where the upper flat of the building was seen engulfed in flames.

The fire was extinguished by fire personnel but nothing could have been saved. The home was owned by the Wills family who is tonight homeless. when 7news visited the scene today, the family told us that their home was set on fire by one of their children's bitter ex-boyfriend.

They said he was there early that day making threats and even getting physical. When they called the police, they were a no show.

Karen Wills, Fire victim
"When I went in my room my husband was sleeping on the bed and I ask him if he didn't smell smoke or something burning. We heard the neighbor from across the street yelled out fire. We didn't even have time to come out the house. We nearly ran left our children because the house was already on fire."

Monica Bodden
"How many of you guys were at home?"

Karen Wills, Fire victim
"She, I, my son, 2 other babies and my husband."

Monica Bodden
"Upstairs your daughter?"

Karen Wills, Fire victim
"No, she wasn't there. She was hiding from him and when he came he didn't find her upstairs. I sat down downstairs and heard him whenever he is here because he walks hard up in the house. I heard him walking hard upstairs and then for a while I didn't hear him at all. But when he left he left the house on fire."

Monica Bodden
"At any point did he say that he was going to burn down the house?"

Karen Wills, Fire victim
"Yes, he told my daughter and one of my nieces that he will burn down the house. He says that we will not have any house to live in when he leave from here."

Monica Bodden
"Was there some sort of altercation yesterday before this happened in the night?"

Karen Wills, Fire victim
"When he came yesterday and broke open the door where my daughter and I was - he jump on her in the chair. She has her young baby right beside her. When he jumped on her I jump on him and I punched him in the jaw but he didn't let go my daughter. I was thinking about digging out his two eyes."

Monica Bodden
"That was when he bit your daughter?"

Karen Wills, Fire victim
"No, he still was biting her, he didn't let her go. When he finally let her go he ran, he didn't stand up like a man to fight. He ran and she ran after him with glass. I told her to throw the glass at his head."

Monica Bodden
"I also understand that he threw a bottle."

Karen Wills, Fire victim
"Yes after he finish biting Shany he came around the neighbor house and threw a bottle. The bottle hit a little boy in the head."

Monica Bodden
"How old is the child?"

Karen Wills, Fire victim
"2 years old. They need to do something about him. Look what he did; he has me out of my house. They need to pick him up because if they don't pick him up and my son finds him then they will come because I got on my phone and I call the police. I am not sure which one but I know it's a policeman because I ask if this was the police and he says yes and I told them that when the boy stone against my house and the bottle broke I thought that it was my window. I told the police to please come to take this man out of my house - take him out. None of them appeared. The house burns down and we still don't see any police."

"This is all we manage to save, nothing else. The children don't have any clothes. We don't have anything."

Monica Bodden
"How frustrated this is for you to lose everything?"

Karen Wills, Fire victim
"Miss, you don't know how frustrated I feel. I can't even eat last night; I can't even sleep because I am not use to depend on anybody. From the age of 15 with my children I am struggling. I don't even go at my sisters to beg them for nothing and then this is what a simple man did leaving us without a house for me and my children. I don't have anywhere to go."

The value of the building and its contents is unknown. No one was injured and the cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained. The house did not have any electricity.

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