Businessman Simon Kumar could only watch helplessly as firefighters battled the blaze that destroyed his supermarket in Korovou Town, Tailevu, yesterday.

Mr Kumar’s nine years of hard work – a supermarket and bakery – were lost in the early morning fire.

Destroyed in the fire were Mr Kumar’s Shop N Gain Supermarket and bakery, plus the 360 Events warehouse (includes a billiard shop, auto spares shop, audio/video production room) and four flats.

Mr Kumar, 45, said: “Like every other morning, I wake up to get ready and come to my supermarket.”

“But, this morning it was a different experience. I woke up at around 6.20am when a carrier driver told me that my supermarket was on fire.

“I then rushed to Korovou Town and within five minutes, I was at the scene seeing my supermarket completely in flames,” he said.

Mr Kumar said for the past nine years he was renting the supermarket space for $3500 per month.

In an emotional interview, Mr Kumar said: “I will now have to start all over again and I will try my best.

“I do not know how the fire started.”

Mr Kumar claimed that his supermarket lost goods worth around $1.8 million.

He has five employees who work at the supermarket and two at the bakery.

Three fire trucks and around 20 firefighters were at the scene trying to put out the fire.

They managed to stop the fire from spreading to other buildings.

It took them about six hours to completely put out the fire.

Police officers from the Korovou Police Station were at the scene trying to control the traffic flow as people had poured into town to watch.

Gyan Prasad, owned the 360 Events Warehouse and has been operating the video and audio production business for the last four years.

He also runs a billiard shop and an auto parts shop.

“I was asleep when my sister called and told me about the fire.

“By the time I reached the fire scene, the building was up in flames. I tried to save some of my items, but I was unsuccessful,” he said.

“I was completely shattered seeing everything was destroyed in the fire within half an hour.

“I will have to start all over again and my eight employees are now jobless,” he said.

Navitesh Nand, 26, travels to Korovou Town every morning from Koroniva in Nausori. He operates a spare parts business.

He was shattered after he was told that his business was destroyed.

Mr Nand shared shop space with Mr Prasad.

“For the last two years, I have been operating my small spare parts business in Korovou Town. I have no idea how to start my business again,” a distraught Mr Nand said.

The building owner is Ahmed Musa, residing in New Zealand.

He was informed by his family members about the incident.

Police spokesperson, Ana Naisoro said: “We are now working with the National Fire Authority (NFA) to determine the cause of the fire.”

“No one was reported injured,” she said.

NFA in a statement said: “Three fire trucks were engaged to put out the fire. A fire truck from the Korovou Fire Station and a fire truck each from the Nausori and Suva Fire Stations attended to the fire.

“NFA investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.”

Edited by Caroline Ratucadra

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