Let the facts speak for itself!

That’s the advice from Police Commissioner Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho to “overnight experts” on all matters relating to building fires caused by mosquito coils.

His comments came following a number of commentaries from Fijians after the Vale ni Bose building in Nasese, Suva, was destroyed by fire last December.

The Police chief shared some facts and stills captured from the CCTV footage, which clearly showed how the fire started and its cause.

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt,” Commissioner Qiliho said while quoting Abraham Lincoln.

“It is better for so-called experts to keep their opinions to themselves when they are not privy to information that experts with the National Fire Authority and Police have.

“The flames broke out from the mosquito coil after 62 minutes, as captured on CCTV.”

After the fire at the complex, conspiracy theories, fuelled by those with political motivation, have been rampant on social media.Commissioner Qiliho said every individual who was at the scene was interviewed.

“The National Fire Authority and the Fiji Police Force reached the same conclusion following a thorough investigation,” he said.

“Speculation by so-called experts has only stirred unwarranted ill-feelings among the iTaukei population, as displayed on social media posts.”

An early morning fire destroyed the Vale ni Bose of the Fijian Trust Fund in Nasova.

Witnesses at the scene said the fire started at around 3.30am on December 11, 2019.

The North and South wings of the complex were not affected. It houses the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Lands and Ministry of Defence.

Meanwhile, studies have shown that mosquito coils have been one of the biggest reasons behind structural fires in the Pacific. It is a known cause of building fires the world over.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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