Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Sinamoni Kauvaka says the fires ravaged homes in Ma'ufanga and Havelu on the weekend.

He says the first incident reported was last Saturday morning when a 14 by 12 metre house was seen engulfed in flames. He says the family who occupied the house were out shopping at the time of the incident. 

The estimated damage done to the home was in the range of twenty five thousand pa'anga.

He reports the second incident broke out in Ma'ufanga last Sunday. He said a neighbour called in the fire at about 11pm on Sunday night. Assistant Chief Kauvaka says by the time fire-fighters arrived at the scene the four bedroom house was completely ablaze.

He reports that these two incidents bring the total number of reported fires to 34, down six from 40 reported incidents last year.

He calls on the public to be more cautious in relation to protecting their property from fire.

Assistant Chief Kauvaka asks the public to dial 999 if they wish to report a fire in the Nuku'alofa area, 927 for the Eastern District and 928 for the Western District.

He asks people to use these numbers and not call through the TCC switch, as it helps to quicken the Fire Department's response time when responding to incident.

eTonga Tonga News