Fire destroyed a home in Belize City this weekend – but the home’s not so much the thing because the woman of the house is a construction worker. The painful part is that is that it happened just after her son’s birthday. Jacqueline Godwin found out more today.

Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
Four year old Kirk Elrington points to what remains of his birthday cake. Even the party meal of rice and beans was still in the pot on top of the stove. Luckily twenty seven year old Stacey Thurton and her three children ages two to seven years old had already celebrated around three thirty on Sunday evening and where not at home when flames engulfed the upper flat of the two bedroom house situated at number ninety six B Neal’s Penn Road. Most of what the family owned was completely burned. Fortunately Stacey Thurton who is one of the few Belize women construction workers in the country did find her tools in the debris tools - those will be needed to help rebuild her life.

Stacey Thurton, Fire Victim
“It is starting all over again. I just have to get up and push and try to see where I can get help from. I am a hard worker so I will continue to work hard and get back on my feet.”

The loss has devastated Stacy Thurton but she remains optimistic that all will be well with the young family.

Stacey Thurton,
“Well actually I wasn’t here. I went out. My kids were at my neighbour’s house and I went out to take a piece of cake to my sister in law and three minutes later I got a call that my house is on fire.”

And it in was matter of only three minutes that everything Stacy Thurton spent most of her adult life working hard and purchasing her household times was completely destroyed by fire.

Stacey Thurton,
“I had a brand new computer set, like three 19 inch TVs, a smaller one, refridge, washing machine, stove, toaster oven – a lot of stuff - a real lot of stuff.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
What a way to remember your son’s 4th birthday.

Stacey Thurton,
“What a way to remember, yeah.”

Investigations are still very preliminary but Stacy Thurton strongly believes it may have started due to an electrical problem inside the switch box at the upper front portion of the outside wall. From there the fire quickly spread to the interior of the building.

But already Stacy Thurton and her three children are not being forgotten. So far they have been receiving assistance from the Belize City National Emergency Organization and her children’s primary school.

Stacey Thurton,
“I had a few wet clothes and I tried to get them out. I got something to put on that the guy who I work, at his grandmother he found one or two pieces of clothes for me so I could have something to wear. I have one or two people that I work for who are giving me a hand, helping me out but it is just the living arrangement I have to work.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
Right you are staying with family or with friends?

Stacey Thurton,
“Actually the guy I work with, at his grandmother. It is just friends helping me out but it is rough. It is rough. And then my kids staying at my neighbour’s house because they don’t have any space.”

While Stacey Thurton is not pointing any fingers she says the fire occurred shortly after a team from Belize Electricity Limited had worked in the area and now she wonders if there is a connection.

Stacey Thurton,
“The Saturday after they finished work I had no current in the house, only right here as I said before.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
Did you complain to BEL at the time?

Stacey Thurton,
“Well actually I was waiting until Monday because it was late Saturday already and so I said I would call Monday and find out what happened because it is right after they left that trouble started. I only had current right around here where the actually start over that side.”

According to fire officials they are investigating to see if it was anything electrical that may have started the blaze. In the meantime this hardworking single of mother three needs your help to reunite the family.

Luke Collymore, Employer/House Doctors Comp.
“It was very hard. When I heard it I couldn’t believe that somebody who works so hard, gets up everyday, puts everything into her kids, her child was celebrating his birthday – it kind of puts life into perspective that one minute you could have everything and the next minute it could be gone and I would like to ask anybody who could help Stacy. She works really hard. Stacy is not the type of person who would go out on the street begging anybody for anything. She would get up and go to work. She is a hardworking woman and if anybody could help her, it would really be appreciated.”

If you can assist Stacy Thurton and her children you can reach Stacy at cell phone 624–6666. Reporting for 7News Jacqueline Godwin.

The fire service reports that when they arrived on the scene, the interior was already engulfed in flames and there was nothing they could have done to save the building and its contents; they focussed on containing it. According to the National Fire Service at this time they cannot determine what started the blaze because presently the switchbox is in the hands of their investigators who will be working to find out whether not it was the cause of the fire. Fire investigators are especially looking for signs that the wires inside the panel were fused, which would have created a spark or short circuit that could have ignited a blaze.

According to BEL, they too are awaiting the results of the fire investigation but told us that the only installation and electrical connection they do is from the BEL pole to their weatherhead that is on the outside of the residence. Any electrical connection from the weatherhead to the panel box or what is also referred to as the switchbox is the sole responsibility of the private electrician who is hired by the property owner or renter. Meanwhile BEL says as in any case, they are doing their own investigation. .

7New understands the property was owned by one Carolee Elrington and was uninsured but it is valued at fifty thousand dollars