THE National Fire Authority (NFA) yesterday commissioned a new fire station in Korolevu on the Coral Coast in Sigatoka which is expected to service close to six villages along the highway including resorts and communities in the area.
While commissioning the fire station, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said the repeated fire incidences in the area including risks to hotels and resorts prompted the move.
“Far too often do we read such stories about families who have lost everything to house fires or Fijian businesses that fires have damaged or destroyed,” he said.
“Unfortunately, some of those stories have marred Korolevu’s own recent history. We all remember the Korolevu Resort and Paradise Point Resort — both destroyed by fires — which were located just opposite from this new fire station. Crises that both could have been avoided if NFA services had been more readily available.”
Mr Bainimarama said the Warwick Fiji Resort and the Naviti Resort also suffered fires in 2012, which showed the risks posed to homes and businesses in Korolevu were unacceptably high.
“It was due to these repeated incidents that my Government sought to establish this new station and bring the fast-acting emergency response services of the NFA to the doorsteps of the families and businesses here in Korolevu and up and down the Coral Coast,” he said.
