Six businesses were destroyed in a property fire along main street Labasa on Tuesday.
The National Fire Authority has confirmed that the businesses – housed under the Jaduram Building located in the heart of the northern town – included two restaurants, a pharmacy, and three retail stores.
NFA chief executive Puamau Sowane said the building, constructed of concrete and iron with wooden interior, was approximately 35 metres x 20 metres in size.
He said in three minutes from when the running call from a police constable was received until its arrival at the scene, the fire team saw Kwong Tung Restaurant well involved, and the fire rapidly spreading to adjacent shops.
“Whilst the firefighters fought hard to stop the fire spread, the intensity of the fire and heavy fire loading, coupled with slightly windy conditions, caused the fire to spread quickly to the adjacent shops and destroyed the six businesses that were operating in that building,” Mr Sowane said in a statement.
He added highly flammable material contents in the building also contributed to the fast spread of the fire.
“Fortunately, there were no injuries reported as the occupants of all the businesses involved had already evacuated the building.”
He urged commercial property owners to ensure their premises were fire safety-compliant and all their workers attended fire safety training on proper and effective uses of fire extinguishers and other fire mitigating equipment.
The NFA began its investigations yesterday to determine the cause of the fire.
