The National Fire Authority attended to a major commercial fire incident at Namoli Avenue, adjacent to Village 4 Cinema in Lautoka last night.

The incident happened at around 8pm.

Upon arrival at the scene, the NFA team found the ground floor of the building rented by Chicken Express Lautoka branch and partially used by the owner of the building as storage fully engulfed.

It is understood the fire started from the second floor of the building, occupied by The Potters House Church Lautoka while the top floor of the building was empty.

The firefighters managed to save the Chicken Express building partially and other adjacent shops and buildings.

The firefighters also managed to save Energy Fiji Limited’s sub board and Village 4’s generator adjacent to the burning building.

The fire destroyed the building used by the owner as storage for his materials on the same floor as the Chicken Express.

NFA Chief Executive, Puamau Sowane commended the quick action from the firefighters which enabled them to save other buildings and shops.

He adds this could have been a major disaster if the firefighters did not respond in a timely manner.

The NFA is carrying out an investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire.