Varavu community members in Ba are suspecting that the fire that destroyed the Ba Muslim Primary School teachers’ quarters on Saturday was due to arson.

Resident, Joe Smith said the fire started at around 8pm.

“People are suspecting that this fire was set by someone because this is the first time for this to happen and the quarters are also empty at the moment,” he said.

National Fire Authority chief executive officer Puamau Sowane said they haven’t come down to any conclusion.

“We are still investigating,” he said.

“Information revealed that school quarters were vacant and was used by Women Muslim league as a store room.”

Police media spokesperson, Wame Bautolu confirmed the incident and stated that they would wait for the investigations to complete before making any conclusion.

LAUTOKA FIRE

In Lautoka, Adi Buna Natadra and her family of six luckily escaped an early morning fire that destroyed their wooden five-bedroom home in Jinnu, Lautoka yesterday.

The 58-year-old widow said her family was about to have breakfast when her grandson noticed smoke coming from underneath the house.

“The fire started from the settee which was under the floor of the house. We just had a funeral so we had to clear our house and put all the settees down,” she said.

“I could not save anything, my son said ‘mom don’t take anything, just go out. I just had my handbag and these clothes I’m wearing.”

She lives with her two sisters, two sons and grandson.

“No one is working here, my husband was a soldier and every month I’m earning about $120 a month,” she said.

She and her family had taken shelter at a family member’s home just a short distance from her now destroyed home.

Mr Sowane said investigations would be carried out to determine the cause of the fire however the National Fire Authority continued to urge members of the public to be more vigilant and careful about keeping their properties fire safe.

“Whilst NFA is there for the public to protect them and their properties it is always sad to see the fruits of their hard work over the years goes up in flames and reduced to ashes,” he said.

Edited by Selita Rabuku

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