Four residential fires occur in the first 10 days of this year – NFA

The National Fire Authority is urging members of the public to inform their neighbours and close family members when they leave their homes after four residential fires occurred in the first 10 days of this year.

NFA Chief Executive Officer Puamau Sowane says all these four homes sustained more than 90 percent damage.

He says at 8.19am on Monday, the Labasa Fire Station received a running call from a member of the public about a residential fire at Coqeloa, and an eight-member on-duty crew responded immediately with two fire trucks.

Sowane says on arrival at 8.37am, the crew found the two-bedroom timber and corrugated iron home fully engulfed in flames.

He says with a total of 5000 litres of water at their disposal, the crew used two deliveries of two lengths each to fully extinguish the fire and put out hotspots.

Information gathered at the scene was that a woman and a five-year-old child were at home when the fire started, but they managed to escape unhurt.

The extent of damage sustained was 90 percent to 100 percent, and five people were left homeless.

In the second incident that occurred on Sunday, 7th January, the NFA Command Centre received a call on its 910 emergency line about a residential fire at Caubati Road, Nasinu, at 7.34pm.

The on-duty team at Valelevu Fire Station responded immediately and arrived at 7.40pm to find a double-storey concrete and wooden house on fire.

The crew used one delivery of three lengths from their tank supply, and by 8.12pm, the fire had been extinguished, but the house sustained more than 90 percent damage.

The house was vacant at the time, with its six occupants away on a picnic trip.

The third incident occurred last Friday, when the NFA’s Rakiraki Fire Station received a call about a property fire at Mulau, Rakiraki, at 12.55pm.

The station on-duty crew immediately responded with two trucks and five duty officers, and on arrival at 1.05pm, noticed a three-flat timber and corrugated iron house fully engulfed in flames with part of the roof already on the ground.

The duty crew immediately established one delivery of three lengths to stop the fire from further spreading to other parts of the house and managed to extinguish the fire, but eight people were left homeless with damage estimated at $50,000.

The fourth incident occurred at Qaranivalu Road, Kalabu, Nasinu, on 2nd January where a vacant two-bedroom house belonging to a 38-year-old mechanic caught fire and was damaged.

The estimated cost of damage is $80,000.

Investigations have started to find out the probable cause of the four incidents.

Sowane says it was sad that eight days into the new year, people were losing their hard-earned assets, such as houses and material possessions, to fires.

He says a lot of fires can be easily avoided if people practise fire safety in their homes, and electrical faults are one of the main causes of fires.

He says the NFA’s advice is to find a licensed electrician to carry out work on your home.

Sowane is urging the public to call our 910 toll-free line in the first instance to give their firefighters a better chance to save their properties and valuables.