Fire completely destroyed Judy’s Fast Food and Bar located in the San Juan Area on a quiet Boxing Day afternoon. The San Pedro Fire Department received a report of a fire in the San Juan Area on Sunday, December 26, 2010, and quickly dispatched the two fire trucks to the scene, upon their arrival the establishment was completely engulfed by fire.
Fire fighters worked quickly and diligently to out the fire. It took them about an hour and 15 minutes to completely extinguish the blaze. The building which comprised of three sections – living area, restaurant and bar were completely burnt down and only charred remains were left of what was once Judy’s Fast Food and Bar.
Reports are that the chef left the restaurant at 3:00 p.m. and was scheduled to return at 5:00 p.m., at around 4:30 p.m. the chef was told that the building was on fire. The husband of Mai was sleeping at the living quarters of the building when the incidents occurred; when he awoke he exited the building through the back door of his room unhurt.
Fast work by the San Pedro Fire Department prevented the blaze to spread to nearby buildings of Richie’s Store/Stationary Store and Los Cocos Restaurant. An investigation team from Belize City was dispatched at the scene early on Monday, December 27, where it was established by the Fire Safety Team that the cause of the fire was electrical due to over loading of wires which caused the wire to overheat.
The building which belonged to Ms. Suzette Halliday and was being rented by Mrs. Xiao Zhen Mai, proprietor of Judy’s Fast Food & Bar was not insured and neither were its contents. The house was valued at $54,705 and the contents valued at $32,235 (not including the eight game machines which were being rented by Mai), all to a total loss of $86,940.
