Three families are homeless after a fire yesterday morning destroyed a subdivided house they were living in at Natabua, Lautoka.
A tenant, who agreed to speak under anonymity, claimed the fire began in one of the flats situated at the back of the house at about 8.30am.
She said the flat was occupied by an elderly woman and her niece.
“The older lady normally goes out of her house every weekend. Today, I saw the taxi coming to take her,” she said.
“Her niece was sleeping when the fire started, and it was a family staying further down that called her to tell her that her house was on fire.
“Then they started screaming and running around.
“She (niece) took a bucket of water and started splashing the house, but the fire was hard to control.”
The tenant said everyone was safely evacuated.
“We are going to my in-laws in Tomuka. Nothing of ours was saved, everything got destroyed, but the other neighbours took their basket of clothes, some pots and pans, and TV.”
Divisional Police Commander West SSP Iakobo Vaisewa confirmed the report.
“Investigations are still underway to determine the cause of the fire,” he said.
