Families lose all in three-home fire
Three families stood in shock as they watched their homes destroyed in a fire early yesterday morning. The fire happened at Makoi, 8 Miles Nasinu, about 4am and destroyed two homes.
Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro said the cause of the fire was not known, but the Fiji Police Force is conducting joint investigations with the National Fire Authority to determine the cause.
Shalen Singh, 40, originally of Tavua, watched helplessly as his years of hard work went up in flames.
Mr Singh and his family of five had been residing at Makoi for more than 18 years.
He said the cost of damage for the valuable items and house was more than $100,000.
A tearful Mr Singh said he woke up to the noises from the neighbours, where the fire initially started.
“When I heard the noise and woke up. I saw the fire and I quickly woke everyone up in the house,” he said.
“I saw the side of my house was catching fire. I ran to my family and asked them to leave the house immediately.
“By the time we got outside the neighbour’s house was on fire and my house was engulfed in flames as well.”
Mr Singh said his family members were living at the neighbour’s house while he asked members of the public for assistance so they could get back on their feet.
Unaisi Daini, 52, of Udu, Kabara in Lau, said she was awake at the time of the incident.
Ms Daini was walking in her house when she saw the flames coming out of their tenant’s house at the back.
She said she yelled out to the tenants to alert them and woke up her family to ensure they were all outside the house safely.
“When I saw the fire, I quickly yelled out everyone’s name to ensure that everyone was alerted of the fire and was out of the house,” Ms Daini said. “Everyone was sleeping when the fire broke out. When we came outside the house and saw the fire, it was massive and had started to spread to the neighbour’s house as well.”
The NFA is investigating to find out the cause of the fire.