Belizean United's Carnival band leader Ashman Wiltshire has been trying to focus on getting his costumes ready for the road march but his mother's Friday night house fire has distracted and derailed him significantly. Wiltshire just returned to Belize from Los Angeles Friday morning with costume materials for Friday night's Miss Carnival Pageant. When the pageant was over he and his friends went to grab food and some drinks but instead of coming home to unwind after a long night -Wiltshire came home to find his mother's house ablaze. Wiltshire told us he believes that it is his own relative who burnt it up. The fire department also confirms that it is arson:
Ashman Wiltshire, Home Owner
"When we come down in the car and we come stop at the corner of the lane and come out the whole house was on fire you could look through and through the house, big flames in the house, the whole place. The people stop me from coming into the yard, the power lines were burning, and everything was burning."
Courtney Weatherburne
"The fire truck was already here trying to put out the fire?"
Ashman Wiltshire, Home Owner
"Police was here, everybody was here, they were trying …all the neighbors came out everyone was looking on they were trying to figure out what was happening."
Courtney Weatherburne
"So you believe this was arson, somebody intentionally set this fire?"
Ashman Wiltshire, Home Owner
"Definateely, it has to be somebody set the fire, there is no other question about it."
Courtney Weatherburne
"And you have an idea more or less who it is?"
Ashman Wiltshire, Home Owner
"Yeah, I definitely do, based on what I have experienced, what I have seen and even threats that were made previously to my mom which we do have via messenger."
Courtney Weatherburne
"Why do think that this person would want to light the house on fire?"
Ashman Wiltshire, Home Owner
"Well I mean I don't feel as if though this is …I feel like this is a cry for help out of desperation because they want somebody to help them and do something for them that is how I feel. It can't be about a place because my mom gave them the house and told them they could have the house but because of bad dealings they had in the past and just of recent something else had happened she told them by September they need to be off the property, they could take the house and put it wherever they would like to but they need to be off the property by September."
Courtney Weatherburne
"I guess maybe they were angry about that."
Ashman Wiltshire, Home Owner
"Yeah. For me this is a very horrible experience I never experience a fire burn in my life. I grew up here my entire life, I lived in this same particular house, this room right here is my room, I grew up here. I would never expected this, I would never expect this from them nonetheless, a family member if I must add my mom, my mom took care of my cousin like he was her own child you."
Orin Smith, Station Officer, National Fire Service
"The investigation reveal that the fire originated on the North of the structure and in that area there was some padded chairs and a refrigerator. Electrical wiring in that area did not reveal any evidence of an electrical fault and as a result, the fire is classified as incendiary in nature."
Wiltshire told us that his relative assaulted him at the house after the fire was extinguished. Wiltshire does not know the cost of damages. Police continue to look into this case.
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