18 people are now homeless following a fire that destroyed three houses yesterday afternoon in Wailea settlement Vatuwaqa.

Owner of one of the houses, Bijnesh Rahul says the fire was believed to have started at about 3.30pm from his neighbor’s house.

Rahul claims while the fire fighters arrived on time with three fire trucks, they couldn’t save their homes because they didn’t have enough water.

“The fire quickly they come without any water, there wasn’t any water in the fire truck. By the time they came, they could have just come to my house, they were parking right towards the main road. By the time they came, they didn’t stop it. Fire started from my house to another house and the other house. Three houses are burnt now.”

Rahul says his wife and his one-year-old son was sleeping at the time the fire broke out and he was lucky to save them just in time.

The fire also tore through a double-storey house next door to Rahul where four people lived.

The National Fire Authority will be undertaking an investigation soon to ascertain the cause of fire.