Family of Ten Left Homeless After Early Morning Fire

A family of ten is appealing for public assistance after a devastating house fire early this morning destroyed their home and all of their belongings in Guinea Grass Village, Orange Walk.

The fire broke out around six a.m. when twenty-five-year-old Jose Mejia woke to the smell of smoke. Mejia said he quickly realized flames were coming from one of the rooms in the house and rushed to get everyone out.

“We were sleeping. We were sleeping, miss and then suddenly I receive a message from my girl. And then I wake up. When I wake up I see like smoke. I smell smoke, and then I hurry, wake up bralee because he was in other bed from other room and then the fire actually start in my sister-in-law room where no one was there in the that room,” Mejia said in a telephone interview.

When asked about the possible cause of the fire, Mejia pointed to an electrical issue. “Actually miss there was there was one outlet miss on that at two by four post. And then the fire was already high. The fire wasn’t like I dunno how to say the tocador, where they put clothes,” he said.

Despite the fast-spreading flames, Mejia said everyone managed to escape the house. “Only my foot get a lee burn miss. And then because I stayed with my lee baby miss. I hurry and wake up my lee bralee. I hurry make he get up. And the next one also. So I wake up my baby and hurry tek out he from the house,” he said.

Fire personnel arrived after the blaze had already caused extensive damage. “Actually not anything the the first fireman came when everything was almost burn, miss,” Mejia said.

The family was unable to salvage any of their belongings. “Everything miss. I was trying to save him was trying to save some clothes, but then the fire catch it, miss, and then everything get burned,” he said.

Mejia explained that the household includes several children and extended family members. “We have one from little girl from six years. We have my baby who’s in four years. And then we have my sister-in-law daughter where she have him four years. And we have a seven-year-old. We have an eleven-year-old, thirteen, fifteen. We got one twenty-one. You got one twenty-three and we have my father-in-law who is forty-five,” he said.

The family says they are now left with nothing and are seeking assistance from the public as they try to rebuild after the fire.

You can contact the family at +501 656-2143 or +501 606-0666.