A man and his three sons would have met their end if their neighbour had not raised the alarm about a fire that had started in their home in Nacara Street in Vatuwaqa, Suva yesterday.

With a couple of days until Christmas, the Beratabua family is now without a home.

Mahendra Singh had seen smoke rising from one of the rooms of the house. At first glance he thought it was someone burning rubbish.

“I realised that the house was on fire. My neighbour was in the kitchen with his three sons and unaware of the fire that was in the room,” Mr Singh said.

“I yelled, but it seemed the alarm was not raised. So I ran to the house, banging the wall and calling them to come outside.”

Voreqe Beratabua did not have the slightest idea that the room occupied by his niece was engulfed in flames.

He said only when Mr Singh came shouting did he realise the danger.

“My niece uses the room at the back. She had gone to work. I opened the door and saw that the fire had become out of control,” Mr Beratabua said. “All I could do was take my three sons out of the house.”

The fire started around 1pm and within an hour, the house made of timber and corrugated iron was destroyed.

Mr Beratabua had suffered burns while working at the Vatukoula Gold Mine. His medical condition does not allow him to work.

His wife Bulou Mere is their sole breadwinner. The family has been given space by neighbours to stay for the time being. They were not able to save anything.

Despite this tragedy, the family are remaining steadfast and have not given up hope.

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