National Fire Authority (NFA) attended to a house fire incident at Kerebula Settlement in Nadi this morning which destroyed three flat wooden and concrete structured house leaving three families homeless.

At 0543hrs, NFA Nadi received the fire emergency call and immediately responded to the fire call. Upon arrival at 0549hrs, Fire Team saw the house fully engulfed in flames.

Fire Team used deliveries of water to extinguish the fire and stopped it from spreading to the nearby houses in the area.

Four fire trucks were engaged, three from the Nadi fire station and one from the Lautoka fire station to extinguish the fire.

NFA CEO John O’Connor is reminding members of the community and home owners to be mindful of fire safety all the time.

“It is very important that before going to bed family members must be mindful of fire safety such as checking the possible fire ignition sources at home like the

The National Fire Authority (NFA) is advising the members of the community on the importance of fire safety with the use of laptops at home.

Laptops are now one of the most commonly used electrical device at home. It is very important that you are always mindful of fire safety when using such electrical device.

The use of an electrical device like a laptop which uses power to operate is dangerous if an extra care is not taken. Some people have this habit of using the laptop at the comfort of their bed and sofa which is a dangerous thing to do especially when your laptop is being charged at the same time.

NFA is advising the members of the community to be mindful of fire safety when using laptop at home and they must ensure not to use the laptop in bed or the sofa if you know that you will use the laptop for a prolong time.

Laptop fire safety tips:

• Always

Rakiraki Fire Station Family Fun Day was held at the Rakiraki Fire Station on July 12.

NFA CEO John O’Connor, Chief Fire Officer Qionilau Moceitai and Country Fire Authority of Australia Fire Investigation Instructors who are currently conducting the one week NFA Fire Investigation Workshop in Suva attended the Rakiraki Fire Station Family Fun Day.

Minister for Local Government, Urban Development, Housing and Environment, Honourable Praveen Kumar, visited the National Fire Authority (NFA) today.

The Minister visited the NFA Headquarters at Walu Bay, Suva and met with the NFA Board, Management and the Staff.

The Board, Management and Staff of NFA traditionally welcomed the Honourable Minister since it was his first visit to NFA as the Minister responsible for the NFA.

The Minister was later briefed on the activities of NFA for 2014 and for next five years.

While, the Honourable Minister, thanked the Board, Management and the NFA Staff for the reforms already undertaken, he reminded the staff that the journey was just starting and that the NFA must continue to change and continue to uplift their standard of service since the Government is focused on the delivery and effective service to NFA.

The Honourable Minister also urged the Board and Management to review NFA strategies and

National Fire Authority (NFA) completed the one week Fire and Vehicle Investigation Course at Novotel Hotel in Lami this afternoon.

Participants from Fiji, Samoa and Solomon Islands attended the course.

Fire Investigation is a specialized field and it is very important that we upskill our people with relevant competencies so they can effectively investigate the causes of fire incidents.

Fire investigation is fundamental to the prevention and reduction of fires and if we identify the correct causes of fires, we can be very strategic in our mitigation strategies and more importantly very specific in our fire safety and community awareness programs and messages.

It is very important that you are well equipped with the right competencies, skills and knowledge to enable you to carry out your role as a fire investigator.

“We are very fortunate to have this partnership arrangement with the Country Fire Authority of

The National Fire Authority (NFA) received a new Scania Multipurpose Fire Truck from the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Environment Parveen Kumar at the NFA Headquarters in Suva today.

The Scania Fire Truck being the first Fire Truck of this type purchased by the NFA was handed over to the NFA during the handing over ceremony.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Minister for Local Government, Housing and Environment Parveen Kumar said he is delighted to hand over the specialized Scania Multipurpose Fire Trucks to the National Fire Authority.

“The purchase of the Multipurpose Fire Trucks is an important Government funded project for the people of this nation.

“We recognize that a key enabling agent to realize this expectation is the need for capital improvements to infrastructure, vehicles and equipment and my Ministry is particularly delighted with this purchase because for the first time in the history of NFA, we have

National Fire Authority (NFA) received eight fire trucks from the Government of Fiji today at the NFA Headquarters in Walu Bay, Suva today.

NFA Board Chairman Commander Francis Kean on behalf of the Government handed the keys of the eight fire trucks purchased from the Country Fire Authority of Victoria, Australia to the NFA CEO John O’Connor.

Commander Kean said the NFA is overwhelmed with the support of the Government which has enabled the NFA to purchase the fire trucks.

“This is a milestone for the National Fire Authority as it builds up capacity and capability for the effective delivery of its services to the people of this nation.

Commander Kean said that with Government’s endorsement of the necessary Reforms that will align the Fire Service to Government’s development plans for economic growth, one of the fundamental enablers is the need to increase and improve NFA's vehicle fleet.

“Government is always on

The National Fire Authority (NFA) is urging the members of the community to change their mindset and attitude towards fire safety and support NFA in reducing the number of fire incidents in 2015.

In spite of NFA conducting more awareness programs and getting more trucks in 2014, NFA has attended to 140 structural fires last year when compared to 120 in 2013.

“This huge increase in the number of structural fires in 2014 is a great concerned. This year NFA has set its focus in reducing the number of structural fires and in order to achieve this ambitious target, we need the support of the members of the community,” NFA CEO John O’Connor said.

“Members of the community must change their mindset and attitude towards fire safety and regard fire safety as one of their important responsibility and accountability.

“Every home owner must accept responsibility and accountability for the fire safety of their property and their family members.

“We can