Four residential fires causing more than $150,000 in damages have prompted warnings from the National Fire Authority (NFA) for homeowners to exercise greater vigilance.
On Thursday, July 25, the Nadi Fire Station received a report at 2:47 pm from the Sigatoka Fire Station regarding a structural fire incident in Tagitagi. The fire crew responded and arrived at the scene by 3:32 pm, where they found a three-bedroom, corrugated iron and timber house fully engulfed in flames. The brigade managed to prevent the fire from spreading further and eventually extinguished the blaze. The house was completely destroyed, with an estimated damage cost of $60,000.
In another incident, the Lautoka Fire Station was alerted at 9:20 am last Friday by the Western Police Command Centre to a structural fire in Vitogo, Lautoka. The on-duty crew arrived at the scene at 9:28 am to find another three-bedroom corrugated iron and timber house fully ablaze. They managed to put out the fire by 9:52 am.
Additionally, the NFA’s Command Centre received a report of a property fire at Wai Settlement, Wailoku, at 4:11 pm last Friday, July 26. The Suva Fire Station’s crew arrived at the scene at 4:22 pm and found the house fully engulfed in flames, which they managed to extinguish by 4:48 pm. A couple and their grandson were in the house at the time and escaped to safety, though the woman sustained burns while rescuing her grandson. The family was taken to Nuffield Health Centre for observation.
In yet another incident, the NFA’s Rakiraki Fire Station received a call at 2:40 pm last Saturday about a structural fire in Balabala Village, Tokaimalo, Ra. The responding team arrived at 3:37 pm to find a five-bedroom wooden home fully engulfed in flames. Initial investigations indicated the fire started from a kitchen fireplace and spread throughout the house, resulting in about 90 percent damage, estimated at $30,000.