A family of 13 living in the “Gungulung” Area of Belize City lost everything in an early morning fire, which burnt two of their houses down.
Readers may know that “Gungulung” is located off Holy Emmanuel Street, in the vicinity of Chetumal Boulevard. It is an area where poor families have squatted in the hopes of being allowed to live. Luwiena Garnett, and her common-law husband, Kirk Davis, her elderly mother, her six children lived in one home. While the couple’s daughter and her triplets, who are less than two years old, lived in another.
On Monday, February 18th, at around 1 a.m., the family woke up to the panic of choking on thick black smoke, which was all around them. Their homes were already on fire, and all they could do was try and get safely out of the two houses. They managed to do so, and nobody was hurt, but the fire completely destroyed their wooden homes.
Investigators from the National Fire Service are attempting to determine the cause of the blaze, and the matter is currently under investigation. The family, however, suspects that someone maliciously set their homes on fire. They have told both the cops and the press that their home was elevated off the ground, and they saw the smoke coming from under the house.
Kirk Davis, one of the victims devastated by this fire told the press, “This is all we have. This is the family right here. There is no other place to go. This is all we have. We worked very hard for this, all these years.”
He estimates that the value of everything they lost is around $70,000. They now don’t even have clothes to wear. They are hoping that the public may be able to offer them a helping hand in this time of great need. All modes of communication was destroyed in the Monday morning fire, and so if anyone would like to offer them some aid, that person would have to visit them at Garnett’s fruits and vegetable shop, which is located on Holy Emmanuel Street. It’s called Miss L’s Food, Fruits and Vegetables, and while they try to work out temporary living arrangements after this disaster, they will be forced to take shelter in the small shop in the short term.
