Aggressive firefighting by the National Fire Authority (NFA) firefighters prevented a major fire disaster from happening at the Vatuwaqa industrial area in Suva this morning.

At 0744hrs, NFA Suva responded to a rubbish fire call at the Vatuwaqa Industrial area. However, upon arrival at the site, the fire crews could not find any rubbish fire, but found smoke coming out at the back of a warehouse.

The team then called for support and was supported by teams from Suva and Valelevu Fire Stations. The teams cut through the roller doors and found the inside of the warehouse fully engulfed in flames. Six fire trucks, five from Suva Fire Station and one from the Valelevu Fire Station were engaged to contain the fire.

“Our main priority was to contain the fire within the warehouse,” NFA CEO John O’Connor said.

The fire had spread quickly in the warehouse because of the heavy fire load such as clothes and other combustibles that were inside the warehouse.

Firefighters braverily fought the fire to ensure that this fire was contained within the warehouse. It was a huge effort by our firefighting teams given the magnitude of the fire and the risks associated with the fire,”Mr O’Connor stated.

NFA investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire incident. Meanwhile, NFA’s effort was also praised by the property owners in the Vatuwaqa Industrial area for saving their property.

Ian Godson whose family runs the chemical shop said a fire of this magnitude could have done a significant damage and thanked the NFA for efficiently fighting the fire.

“I would like to thank the firefighters for their hard work and their bravery for ensuring that our property is saved from this fire disaster,” Godson said.