On Friday, December 26, The San Pedro Fire Department responded to a fire call a little after 1:20p.m.in the San Juan Area. Upon arriving at the scene fire fighters found one of six houses clustered together engulfed by flames and smoke.
The wooden structure (20×14) located on Deer Street is owned by Maria Lanza residing in Ladyville and it was being rented by Monica Ramirez who was in Dangriga at the time of the fire. She had left her 14-year-old son Anton Sabal in charge of the house.
At the time of the incident there was no one at home and according to investigations the fire started in the small kitchen area where the electric fire stove was left on. Everything inside the house was lost and it is unsure whether the building was insured.
Party People Avert Fire Accident
While most people were sleeping around midnight of Christmas Day or were with family and friends at home, a few party people were still out the night of December 25 looking to welcome Boxing Day, which is another public and bank holiday.
It was a fortunate thing that a couple of people were at the right place at the right time. Two passersby smelt and saw smoke coming out of the house in front of Milo’s Center around 1a.m. on December 26. They quickly called the fire department and proceeded to wake up the residents of the house.
When the residents came out it was evident that the entire living room was filled with smoke. Fortunately there was no fire in sight as only a cooking pot had been left on the stove and was overheating. A few more minutes left unchecked, a scene would have been more disastrous. The fire department was quick to respond, and thankfully a Christmas disaster was prevented by revelers who were still on the go after midnight. Thank God some people never get tired of partying.
