[Source: EFL]

The National Fire Authority attended to 243 incidents of bush, grass, sugarcane and rubbish fires in just a month.

Chief Executive, Puamau Sowane says the costs incurring from these fires is over $95, 000.

Sowane says there has been a spike in these incidents this month as the country nears dryer and windy weather conditions.

He says while these bushfires pose threat to properties and lives, they also impose considerable pressure on the resources of the NFA.

The NFA team in Labasa managed to save a three-bedroom corrugated iron and timber house in Vunika, Labasa yesterday.

Sowane says an uncontrolled sugarcane fire had spread to the floor of the property, but firefighters managed to stop the fire from spreading to the entire house.

The NFA has recorded 179 incidents of bush, grass, sugarcane and rubbish fires in the Western Division, 44 in the North and 20 in the Central and Eastern Divisions.

Sowane says according to the Environment Management (Waste Disposal and Recycling) Regulations 2007, a person who intentionally burns household garbage in a municipality area commits an offense, unless the local authority has a permit that covers the resulting emission.

The penalty for anyone who fails to adhere to this law could be up to $10,000.