An early morning fire has left two families homeless at Vatuwaqa in Suva.
The five bedroom house was completely destroyed yesterday.
House tenant, Alanieta Veivuke,the mother of rugby player Levani Botia’s said luckily everyone was alert during the incident.
“I was inside the house when suddenly the house owner called me to get out of the house because the fire had fully engulfed half the rooftop,”Mrs Veivuke said.
“Luckily the house owner and her four year old son and I were not injured.”
Mrs Veivuke said her husband was away in Nadi to pick her son, Mr Botia who would be spending Christmas here.
National Fire Authority Chief Eexecutive Officer, John O’Connor said that was very important for home owners to be mindful of fire safety at home.
“Our homes are filled with fire ignition sources as we use fire for cooking; use of electricity, candles, prayer diyas, etc. Therefore, it is very important that extra care is taken at home to ensure we prevent a fire from starting,” Mr O’Connor said.
“It is very important for home owners to be mindful of fire safety during Diwali since there will be a lot of activities at home and as such there is a possibility of a fire happening at home,”he said.
Investigations to determine the cause of the fire is still underway.