Thirty (30) people have been left homeless in 9 separate fire incidents that occurred in the first 10 days of this month.

National Fire Authority Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Puamau Sowane says the recent increase in number of residential fire incidents are alarming and raises a lot of question on fire safety in homes and businesses.

“The number of fires recently are just too many and its sad to see so many people losing their homes and belongings in fire,” he said.

“We have observed a trend of fires occurring in homes that are left vacant. Out of these 9 fire incidents in 10 days, 6 fires occurred when the building was left vacant or when the owners of the property were away,” he said.

“The National Fire Authority has been advising every Fijian to do a thorough check in and around homes for any fire hazard before leaving properties vacant. Despite fire safety education, we have recorded several fire incidents occurring while the properties are vacant,” he added.

In the fire incident at Navakasigani, in Labasa on Sunday, 10^th July, a partially concrete and wooden double-storey house was destroyed when the owner of the house was away. The Labasa Fire Station was alerted of the house fire at 12.50 pm and the fire team responded immediately. Upon arrival at the scene, the fire team found the house engulfed in flames. The team quickly used one delivery of water from the fire truck to extinguish the fire.

In the second fire incident that occurred on Saturday, 9^th July at Sawaran Road in Koronivia Nausori, a two-bedroom house was destroyed when it was vacant. The Nausori Fire Station was alerted of the house fire at 9.45 pm and the fire team responded immediately. Upon arrival at the scene, the fire team found the corrugated iron and wooden house engulfed in flames. The team quickly used one delivery of water from the fire truck to extinguish the fire.

According to National Fire Authority statistics, since January this year to date, a span of over 6 months 12 days, a total of 63 structural fire incidents were recorded of which 58 incidents were residential fires and 5 were commercial fire incidents.

From the month of January to date, the total cost of damage due to these fires has been estimated at over $6 million, which is alarming for a period of 10 and half months.

“Considering the current dry and windy weather conditions in the Western Division, all Fijians also need to start being vigilant and stop lighting fire carelessly.

“We cannot depend on others to prevent our homes from fires, it is our individual business to look after our homes and prevent it from being destroyed by fire. Fire Safety is everyone’s responsibility and we cannot be complacent about fire safety. As we approach the festive season, it is our responsibility as individuals to focus on fire safety and precautionary measures put in place to prevent fires from damaging our homes”, he said.

“The increase in residential fire incidents indicates that people are being very careless are not taking fire safety seriously around their homes and properties. We urge members of the public to listen to our advices through all media outlets and take heed of it. Fire safety is everyone’s responsibility! The NFA teams are always ready to respond to any fire incident and we are always available to provide important advice to any home owner or tenant on how best to prevent fire from damaging their belongings and property”, he said.

“NFA also strongly advises the general public to avoid careless burning of rubbish and shrubs outside and in backyards. The current dry and windy weather conditions we are currently experiencing can aggravate the spread of small fires into major fires that can destroy homes and even lives”, he said.

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