Angry ex-boyfriend is main suspect in arson that leaves family homeless

Belize City police are expected to bring a charge of Arson against the man they have in custody for a fire that completely destroyed two houses and scorched four others in a breezy Monday morning inferno in Petticoat Alley.

The blaze was reported sometime around 3:00 that morning and spread from an old abandoned wooden house at number 14, before quickly spreading to a second wooden house at number 22, which was occupied by the family of Doreth Forman.  Forman herself was not in Belize City at the time, but four cousins and nieces were, and it was while one of them got got to use the bathroom that she heard the cracking and discovered that the house was ablaze.  They only had time to run out to safety without saving anything.

The yard itself beneath the house at #14 was filled with garbage and fire investigators had to sift through a heap of burnt garbage before finding the evidence.  They did so on Tuesday and handed that evidence over to police.  That was not the only challenge they had, as fighting the blaze itself proved a feat in itself, considering that Petticoat Alley, which has old houses punctuating certain spots, the close proximity between them and a hearty breeze blowing from the Caribbean, providing enough fuel for a bigger disaster.

Such was not the case, however, as tactical firefighting and luck was on the side of the firemen.  This time, water pressure did not pose a problem either, as on previous occasions.  When it was brought under control about an hour later, two two houses at number 14 and 22 were totally gutted, but a third wooden structure in the same yard at number 18 was still standing.  Heat damage and scorching are very visible on the sides of four other houses which faced the inferno but were located  in adjacent yards.

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