Young Mother and Her Two Babies Perish in Antelope Street Fire

The bodies of a young mother and her two babies were found among the charred remains of a house on Antelope Street, Belize City.  It is a story that turned tragic just after seven o’clock this morning.  Reporter Vejea Alvarez has the report.

Sheree Lord, Mother of Deceased: “The way how Adrianna died she had the two babies, held them tight because that is Adrianna. Adriana is loving.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love FM News: Tonight, there is a somberness in the Antelope Street community after an early morning blaze claimed the lives of a mother and her two young children. Just after seven-thirty, 64-year-old Elida Sabido and her son left their home where 22-year-old Adriana Lord, her 2 children, 2-year-old Asiah and 2-month-old Zion Lord, were sleeping. Moments after, a blaze broke out and quickly engulfed the wooden structure trapping the mother and the infants inside. Lord’s mother, Sheree, says when she arrived on the scene efforts were still being made to rescue her daughter and grand babies. 

Sheree Lord, Mother of Deceased: “I reached there in like three minutes but everywhere was crowded so I was blowing, blowing, a guy had his cycle blocked across the street. By the time we reached to the house actually it was already partly burned but the back area where those guys were trying to break they said they heard Adriana in the back area and I told them yes because that is Adriana’s room. But the police were already there and they didn’t want us to pass. I was telling them it was my daughter, that is my mom’s house I need to pass and I just came out of my vehicle and I ran toward the house. So a guy got in my vehicle and he reversed it for me because I left it in the middle of the street and I ran towards the house and I was just asking them to please tell me if she was in there. Nobody wanted to answer.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love FM News: It wasn’t until the flames were extinguished that the family found out Adrianna her and her kids had perished in the fire. Lord says she believes her daughter fought hard to escape but was just not able to overcome the huge flames. 

Sheree Lord, Mother of Deceased: “When I reached there the smoke was really thick because it’s like the house went up quick and the tank exploded, that made it worse because when I reached in front of the house I just heard the “boom” from where the tank exploded. So to be honest with you I don’t think she had much chance. I know my daughter and I said when I saw here she was on the bed – because I saw a body, because the neighbor I climbed on the step and I saw the body. She never had much chance so I said she must have just said you know what maybe we won’t make it and she just held the baby. She just held two of them because she was on the bed and she had the two of them because I saw like the baby were actually on her body so it looks like she leaned over on the bed and held the two of them.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love FM News: The fire is believed to have been fueled by household appliances and the age of the home. Station Supervisor, Kenneth Mortis, says the cause of the blaze is believed to be an electrical fault. 

Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor, Belize Fire Department: “We were able to conclude that the fire started as a result of an electrical flaw. All the electrical remains showed that they had deteriorated over a period of time and it gave way this morning. The fire worked its way up from the ceiling and then banked down whereby all the smoke eventually came down to a lower level before the fire itself consumed the building. Once that happened visibility was poor and the mother couldn’t find her way out.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love FM News: Lord had recently moved in with her grandmother after her home was damaged by Hurricane Lisa. Her mother says that she had just spoken with the family last night and believes that her daughter may have suffocated from the smoke. 

Sheree Lord, Mother of Deceased: “Last night when I spoke to them they were happy. Zai said she wanted to come to my house. I said no baby I will have to work so you can’t come until I get off then you will come and she was happy. She said “Nana I love you.” That baby is so smart you know like anybody that sees Zai, Zai is two she just registered her for school last week actually. She is two but she talks like a five year old. Everybody that meets Asiah, I was the one that gave her the name Asiah because I always told her “Baby Asiah means all is with you.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love News.

@lovefmbelize The bodies of a young mother and her two babies were found among the charred remains of a house on Antelope Street, Belize City. It is a story that turned tragic just after seven o’clock this morning. Reporter Vejea Alvarez has the report. #Belize#BelizeCity#fire#LoveFM #LoveFMBelize#BelizeNews ♬ original sound – Love FM Belize