28 people homeless after six fires over the weekend

28 people are now homeless after six homes were destroyed over the weekend, causing more than $565,000 worth of damage.

The National Fire Authority is urging people to be constantly aware of their surroundings and to safely store items that can ignite a fire.

NFA Chief Executive Officer Puamau Sowane says 17 residential fires have happened this year, with an estimated damage of $1.26 million.

He says 64 people were left homeless.

NFA Command Centre received a call on Sunday, from its 910 toll-free emergency line reporting a residential fire at Kiribati Settlement, Naboro.

Lami Fire Station was alerted and responded immediately, and when they arrived at the scene by 1.14pm, a four-bedroom timber and corrugated house was on fire.

The home belonged to a security officer, and at least six people were left homeless.

Ba Fire Station received a call reporting a property fire at Orisi Street, Tauvegavega, inside the fire boundary, and one truck and six officers attended to the report, while another crew from the same station attended to another residential fire.

The timber and corrugated residence was vacant, and the crew managed to extinguish the fire with an estimated damage of $5000.

Earlier on Sunday, Ba Fire Station received a call at 2.54am from Ba Police Station reporting a residential fire at Field 28, Ba.

The on-duty crew immediately responded, however, a two-bedroom timber and corrugated iron house was fully engulfed in flames, and the house was vacant as the owner was staying and working in Suva.

The house estimated damage of $20,000.

Meanwhile, the Levuka Fire Station received a running call on Saturday at 8.11am about a property fire at Kalaba Settlement where a timber and corrugated iron house were fully engulfed, and using the tank supply, the duty crew extinguished the fire through one delivery of eight lengths and feeding from a nearby hydrant.

The cost of damage is yet to be determined.

The Nadi Fire Station received an alert on Saturday at 5.40am, from the NFA Command Centre, about a property fire at A H Khan Road, Nawaka.

The duty team was attending to another fire at Malamala and immediately sent one truck with three officers to Nawaka, however, the fire was quickly spreading towards neighbouring houses just metres away.

A total of 11 people were left homeless, and damage was estimated at $290,000.

Earlier the same day, the Nadi Fire Station received a call from the NFA Command Centre at 5.04am reporting a fire at Malamala, outside the fire boundary.

This left six people homeless with an estimated damage of $250,000.

Investigations are underway to find out the probable cause of the six fires over the two days.

Sowane says adequate spacing between houses is imperative in heavily populated areas as proper home spacing is considered a fire breaker and prevents fire from spreading to adjacent buildings.

He is urging people to be careful, practice fire safety habits and learn fire safety rules.

The CEO says people’s lives had been lost in the past from unwanted fires, and they urge people to learn from these tragic incidents.