Sharon Shivanjini, 20, could only watch helplessly as a fire destroyed her home and a neighbouring home at Lawaki, Lautoka, yesterday.

Ms Shivanjini was alone at home with her partner when she noticed flames engulfing the roof of the four-bedroom house.

“It started maybe around 10.15 in the morning. We were just sitting in the sitting room and we could hear the louvres cracking and neighbours shouting, so I thought they might be fighting, but when I looked up, I saw the smoke coming,” she said.

“I tried to go inside, but I couldn’t. The fire started from the bedroom because when I came out the two bedrooms were on fire, I just don’t know how it started, but I think it was because of the wiring.”

She said she lived with her brother and mother, both of whom were not home when the fire started.

“We couldn’t save anything.”

National Fire Authority chief executive officer, Puamau Sowane confirmed the incident.

“Our Lautoka station received the above call at 10.34 am from Suva control on 910 lines. Brigade immediately responded with two appliances with 8 duty officers. There were 3 fire trucks attended to this fire, 2 from Lautoka and one from Nadi,” he said.

He said when the officers arrived at the scene at 10.42 am, the four-bedroom corrugated iron and timber house was fully engulfed in flames.

“Two houses were destroyed in this fire due to the quick spread of the fire and non-fire safety compliance to the building construction to these informal settlements,” he said.

“The houses were built too close to each other without any fire separator, due to informal settlement there was no fire hydrant available and our fire appliance has to refill water from the main road approximately 300 metres away.”

Investigation into the cause of the fire continues.

Edited by Selita Rabuku

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