An extended family is homeless after losing all everything in a fire that gutted their seven-bedroom house on Suva St in Toorak on Monday evening.
Maikeli Vulakeibau, 53, caretaker of the property owned by Wesram Finance Fiji, said the family had been looking after the old iron-and-wood house for eight years.
“I never thought something like this would happen,” he said. Mr Vulakeibau was at work when his daughter called at 5.50pm to alert him of the blaze. “I rushed home in half an hour, but by then the house was nearly burned down. The fire spread so fast because the wind was very strong.”
He said the fire started in the kitchen after a gas stove exploded when his daughter accidentally turned it on while sparks from an electrical wire ignited the gas.
“She couldn’t do anything because she was alone … luckily, she only suffered minor burns on her hand and arm.”
The family has been provided temporary shelter at the Marist Brothers Primary School hall. Planning for the future, Mr Vulakeibau intends to rebuild in his Navua Village with his wife and children.
