Two residents of Nadonumai settlement in Lami are asking why the 910 emergency fire phone was not answered last Wednesday as a house went up in flames.
Timoci Gonerogo said he had to physically travel to the National Fire Authority (NFA) fire station in Walu Bay, Suva to tell firemen about the blaze.
Mr Gonerogo, whose six-month-old nephew died in the fire, is now asking questions of the NFA and the administrators of the 910 emergency line.
Mr Gonerogo said he was returning from market shopping when his wife called him to tell him the family house was on fire.
“I immediately told her to call NFA, and she said they had been calling the 910 fire emergency number, but nobody was picking up.
“She called me at 5.10pm and I reached the Suva fire station in Walu Bay at 5.15pm.”
Mr Gonerogo said that when he reached the fire station, he asked the first fireman he met outside to go with him to his house.
“I had asked my wife where the fire was up to and she said that it was still in the room where it started, so I told the fireman the fire had to be put out before it reaches the second house.
“I asked if they had received any calls and he said no, so I asked them to hurry.”
Mr Gonerogo said that by the time he came to the scene with the fire truck, the fire had already spread to a second house and was about to jump onto a third one.
“The issue I would like to highlight is that I, the owner of the house, had to run to the station to get the fire truck.
“If I hadn’t gone to the station, all the other houses would have burnt down.”
Rosi Logapila, a neighbour who lived one house away, said she wasn’t aware of the fire until she heard something explode from the direction of Mr Gonerogo’s house.
“The family from that house ran up the driveway, I went to ask what happened and saw smoke coming from their house,” she said.
“When I first called, I accidentally dialled 911 and the person who answered, directed me to call 910.
“It was almost 5pm when I called and I called 910 twice, but there was no answer.”
Ms Logapila said concerned onlookers and neighbours called the NFA to no avail.
“Everyone was calling the NFA and luckily the owner of the house himself had gone to the station.
“If not, our house and all the other houses here would have been burnt to the ground as well.”
• Questions sent to the NFA about the allegations by Mr Gonerogo and Ms Logapila remained unanswered when this edition went to press.
