A family at Naulu-Navuso Settlement narrowly escaped losing their newly built home after a bushfire spread dangerously close to their property today, leaving resident Roneil Anand to protect his family and home.

Anand, who had built his house just two months ago, said he noticed smoke coming from nearby vegetation when they woke up in the morning.

“As soon as I saw the smoke coming out from the side, I called the fire emergency. They told me the fire truck was on standby in Nakasi, so I took my car and went to get them,” he said.

However, the poor condition of the access road prevented the fire truck from reaching their area, with Anand explaining that the road was too muddy and difficult for the vehicle to travel through.

He added that firefighters who initially visited the area advised residents to contact them again if the fire moved closer to their homes.

“I called them 10 times when the fire came closer, but no one responded. I had to save my house and my land myself,” Anand revealed.

He said the situation had placed his family at risk, particularly with his six children and wife living in the house.

“I got six kids with me. I’m staying with my wife. What if my house would have been burnt today? Luckily, I didn’t go to work today. When I saw the smoke coming out from that side, I just stayed home to protect my family,” he explained.

Anand also expressed frustration over the lack of road access, arguing that a proper road would have allowed emergency vehicles to reach the settlement and help contain the fire before it threatened nearby homes.

“If today, the fire truck would have come here, we would have been safe. Otherwise, I had to save my house myself today,” he stressed.

He added that the settlement had experienced similar incidents before, with neighbours informing him that bushfires had occurred in the area on two or three previous occasions.

Anand urged the Government to urgently improve the road, saying it was not only important for firefighting efforts but also for ambulances and police vehicles to reach residents during emergencies.

“Please, I’m requesting the Government, in an emergency, make the road as soon as possible. So if anything happens here, the fire truck, the ambulance and the police vehicles can also come here,” he appealed.

By: Joeli Ragoneliwa