By JOSEPHINE NAVULA
A family escaped safely out of their burning double story three bedroom concrete structured home was completely destroyed by fire at Navuda road, Davilevu in Waila Stage Three yesterday afternoon.
It was fortunate that the fire occurred during the day time and the family members were able to evacuate the building safely. The property windows and doors were installed with burglar bars,” NFA Chief Officer John O’Connor said.
According to O’Connor, they received the fire emergency call at 3.36pm and the team responded immediately.
“Upon the arrival at 3.45pm, the fire crew saw the house fully engulfed with flames,” he said.
O’Connor also said the fire team got to work and quickly extinguished the fire, but due to the intensity of the fire, the double story home was badly damaged with all the belonging in the house was destroyed.
“The fire spread quickly within the house because there were hazardous materials such as paint and other combustible materials stored in the bottom flat and in the rooms,” he said.
O’Connor has reiterated NFA’s advice for the people to take extra care.
“This incident is yet again a reminder of how important it is for everyone to practice fire safety at all times.”
“We keep reminding members of the community to take extra care, but still fires continue to happen in our communities which mean that some of us are not taking fire safety seriously. We must all take fire safety seriously since it is one of the most dangerous disasters,” he said.
“We must discuss fire safety in our families so that our family members are aware of the dangers of a fire and what to do in case of a fire.”
NFA has commenced its awareness programs and officers are expected to be visiting home, settlements and villages to spread the message of fire safety and share information and have discussions with the property owners,” O’Connor said.