The National Fire Authority (NFA) is currently investigating a fire incident that destroyed a three-bedroom house in Vusuya Nausori early morning today.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   The Nausori Fire Station attended the fire incident after they were alerted of the incident at 1.12 am. Upon arrival at the scene, the fire team found the partially concrete and wooden house fully engulfed in flames. The team quickly used one delivery of water from the fire truck to extinguish the fire and stop its spread to other adjacent houses.

It is understood the house was vacant at the time of the fire incident and the owner who resides five (5) meters away from the burnt building saw the flames when the fire had started.

NFA CEO Mr. Puamau Sowane says people need to start taking fire safety seriously and adhering to all safety precautions that are given by NFA.

“Our teams are always out there putting out fire safety messages and what all we are asking the people is to adhere to these fire safety precautions and be vigilant when it comes to fire safety,” he said.

According to National Fire Authority statistics, last year a total of 132 structural fire incidents were recorded of which 37% had electrical related causes, 33% were arson related, 16% resulted from unattended cooking and 5% resulted from unattended lit candles.

Since January this year to date, NFA has recorded a total of 18 fire incidents of which 8 occurred in the Central and Eastern Division, 1 in the Northern Division and 9 in the Western Division.

Mr. Sowane says that fire threatens everyone’s lives and properties and we should also be mindful of our neighboring homes and properties.

“We are all facing challenging times and losing homes and belongings in a fire at this time is just too painful to see,” he added.

“We are always here to help and we urge the public to adhere to all precautionary measures and avoid such incidents from happening,” he added.

The National Fire Authority urges all Fijians to be alert with their surroundings and immediately call the toll-free fire emergency number 910 if they see any suspicious smoke or fire before attempting to put it out, so that firefighters can respond in the quickest time possible.

NFA is conducting its investigation to determine the cause of the fire incident this morning.

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