‘Fire Will Not Affect Council Services’
‘The 14 staff are now operating from one of the staff quarters here just so we can continue serving the people in the province’
The services rendered by the Cakaudrove Provincial Council will not be affected by the fire that partially destroyed their building early yesterday morning. This was the confirmation from the Roko Tui Cakaudrove Osea Naiqumu who said the fire was contained before it could touch the registry.
“We will get back. The services that we offer to the public will not be affected.
“The 14 staff are now operating from one of the staff quarters here just so we can continue serving the people in the province” Mr Naiqumu said.
He said one of the officials had seen the fire and contacted the National Fire Authority. The NFA arrived within five minutes.
“The NFA officers were really good and we appreciate their responsiveness. They were able to contain the fire before it could have destroyed everything.”
One of the onlookers, Ramasima Wise, who lived close by said the whole village of Yaroi, closest to the building, filled the streets as this was the first time most of them witnessed a fire of that magnitude.
“I was one of the first people to get on the scene moments just after the fire truck reached the building. Villagers filled the pathway and there were screams of panic from the crowd,” Mr Wise said.
“There was thick black smoke which filled the air causing a traffic jam as vehicle drivers could not find their way through the smoke.
“It was scary and a morning that would be hard to forget.”
The NFA in a statement said that they had received a call at 6:13am and arrived at the scene within four minutes.
“The Fire Team entered the building through the front door and found the Conservation and Women’s Co-ordinator’s Rooms on fire. The Fire Team used deliveries of water from the fire trucks relayed from the fire hydrant in the area to extinguish the fire in the Conservation and Women’s Co-ordinator’s Rooms,” the statement read. “Destroyed in the fire were the Conservation and Women’s Co-ordinator’s Rooms while the Fire Team stopped the fire from spreading to the other offices of the Cakaudrove Provincial Council and nearby provincial quarters.
“No one was in the building at the time of the fire. NFA investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire.”