Bush fires a worry
Bush fires a worry
15 July 2013
published by www.fijitimes.com
Fiji — THE National Fire Authority is urging people living in the Western and Northern divisions to refrain from lighting fires to burn rubbish and leaving the blaze unattended.
NFA CEO John O’Connor highlighted the issue after an uncontrolled fire swept through grassland in Natabua near Lautoka and set alight plastic pipes causing considerable damage.
A NFA truck from Nadi had to be called in to assist Lautoka officers in controlling the blaze.
A witness, Marcus Hill, who took pictures at the scene said he saw huge plumes of black smoke from his home at Vuda and rushed over to see what was the cause of the blaze.
“You can imagine the size of the fire because although it happened at Natabua, I was able to see the smoke all the way in Vuda,” he said.
“The fire destroyed quite a few plastic pipes stored in an adjacent yard and also burnt an FEA power pole.”
Mr O’Connor said bush fires were of serious concern in the West and North because of the scant resources available.
“In terms of the number of calls we receive in these two divisions, there are more bush fires than structural fires,” he said.
