A fire has destroyed a Labasa family’s home. Among their losses is the plan they had for celebrating Diwali.

Their four bedroom house went up in flames in Coqeloa yesterday.

Devendra Kumar, 53, a sugarcane farmer said losing the home belong to himself, his wife and three children, three weeks before Diwali was a shock.

“My eldest son came from Suva to attend a prayer meeting at home this week,” he said.

“On Monday night, I left the house with my two sons to visit my brother living a few metres away from the house.”

His wife was alone at home.

According to his son, Rajneel Kumar, his mother yelled out for help when she saw the fire around 2:20am on Tuesday.

“We all ran to assist, but the fire spread so fast that we couldn’t save anything,” the 32-year-old bachelor said.

He also said when the National Fire Authority (NFA) officers arrived, they were also unable to save the property.

“Just recently we renovated the house which was given by our grandparents to our father as he was born in the same house,” he said.

“What is even sadder is that father who is the treasurer of Gang Number 40 in the Buceisau sector, had securely kept some money which also got burnt.”

He said an estimate of $80,000 damages have been done.

Anyone wishing to assist the family can contact Rajneel Kumar on 280 0105.

Meanwhile, NFA and Police are investigating into this incident.

Story by: Shratika Naidu

Feedback: shratikan@fijisun.com.fj