The National Fire Authority (NFA) has estimated a damage bill of $4.1 million to 51 structural fire incidents in the past six months.
NFA chief executive Puamau Sowane said while this statistic was alarming, attending to these fire incidents has incurred a cost of more than $263,000 to the organisation.
“The situation involving
coronavirus (COVID-19) is unprecedented and many businesses have made decisions that they have not faced before,” he said.
“Every life and property matter and everyone has a role to play to ensure that our properties, businesses, homes are fi re safe.
“We urge the public to call on the toll-free fi re emergency number 910 if they see any property on fire so that the fire fighters can respond in the quickest time to save that property.”
NFA is working with the police to conduct its investigations to determine the cause of both fire incidents. Mr Sowane said fire safety was crucial for all businesses and property owners and it was everyone’s responsibility to ensure that their properties were fi re compliant.
“Business owners should take stock of their fi re safety capability and take advantage of fire safety awareness programs that NFA can offer to either eliminate or enable the early mitigation of fire damage to their property.
