Belama Home Destroyed in Suspected Arson

A house in the Belama area in Belize City was destroyed by fire on Sunday, leaving the owner with heavy losses and raising suspicions of arson after neighbours reported seeing a man near the property shortly before the blaze.

Damian Sanchez, who had only been living in the house for five months, said he was away when neighbours noticed smoke coming from a window. The fire department was quickly called, but by the time he arrived, the damage was extensive.

Inside, furniture, appliances, plumbing, and wiring were all torched. Sanchez described the loss as significant. “With this economy, everything just went up. The prices, everything is a different value. Especially with labour. So yeah, it’s a great value of loss there,” he said.

The house, built three years ago, had no electricity or water meters installed, leading Sanchez to believe faulty wiring was not the cause. Neighbours reported seeing a man in a white pickup truck near the property, walking up the steps before leaving when he realised he was being watched.

After the fire was extinguished, Sanchez noticed a crack in the window shutters, which he suspects may have been used to gain access. “A fire wouldn’t just start out of the blue, so it had to be something,” he said.

Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the blaze.