Family Loses Years Of Hard Work In House Fire
Mr Tagivakatini said their three-year-old grandson was traumatised from the life-changing experience.
Friday 22 April 2022 | 16:22
Tomasi Tagivakatini, showing the remains of what he used to call his house at Benau in Labasa on April 21, 2022. Photo: Sampras Anand
A family of three managed to escape to safety when their home at Benau in Labasa caught fire.
The incident during the early hours of Thursday morning was the second residential house fire in Labasa this week.
House owner and father, Tomasi Tagivakatini, said they were fortunate to have spotted and survived the blaze in time.
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“God saved us from death and we are thankful to him despite the property loss,” he said.
Mr Tagivakatini said their three-year-old grandson was traumatised from the life-changing experience.
“Our family is in a state of shock and despair with the loss because a lot of hard work was put into building the three-bedroom property,” he stated.
Mr Tagivakatini said his wife was the first to spot the fire since she was the only member awake at the time.
“My wife was carrying out her prayer sessions and heard the burning sparks at 12:30am,” he said.
“She told me and I went to open the door and saw the back of the house engulfed. I immediately got hosepipe to try to put the fire out”.
The family then reported the matter to the National Fire Authority and officers arrived at about 1am, but could not save the property.
The ex-military man from Tailevu, bought the property in 2003.
The 51-year-old then had ventured into his private carpentry and electrical works since then.
“I have a qualification in carpenter training, however, I have lost all my tools in the fire and now my only source of income is badly affected,” he said.
“In the coming days, we will clear and clean up the property and check with the bank if they could assist in rebuilding.”
The family is currently staying at their neighbour’s home.
They had pre-planned to visit their family farm in Serua, Viti Levu in the coming weeks.
“We managed to save the packed clothes and cooking materials as we immediately shifted the box outside their home,” he said
Meanwhile, the National Fire Authority (NFA) confirmed receiving the report.
The NFA said investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the fire.
Feedback: sampras.anand@fijisun.com.fj
