A taxi driver from Narere, Navosai could not believe he had lost his family home to a fire yesterday.

An emotional Ritesh Prasad, 37, said he had just arrived home and was talking to a neighbour Tikitora Sanivera.

“I had just told ‘Tiki’ I was going to have my lunch and when I entered the house I saw my tenant’s flat was fire,” Mr Prasad said.

“No one was at home, so I kicked the door of their flat and saw the kitchen as well as the two bedrooms at the back was on fire.

“I only managed to save a bag and my wife’s purse. By this time my house already caught fire and so was the bottom flat where my tenant live,” Mr Prasad said

He estimated that he lost close to $250,000 worth of belongings including his family home.

When the Fiji Sun arrived, Mr Prasad was still waiting for his son and daughter who were still at school, and did not know how he would relay the sad news to his children.

Tikitora Sanivera, 59, recalls conversing with Mr Prasad over how ideal the hot weather was yesterday for sunning their beddings.

She was removing thorns from pendanamus leaves (kari voivoi) when Mr Prasad left the house to drop a passenger at Nakasi.

“When Mr Prasad returned he went to the house but soon after we saw him run out shouting to the tenants thinking they were home,” she said.

“Then we saw smoke coming from the bedroom windows and that was when we realised the house was on fire.

“Because it was windy and the house was made of timber the fire spread very fast.

“We tried to save whatever belongings we could.”

NFA said they attended to the fire and investigations have already started.

Edited by Percy Kean

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