A 76-year-old man of Vatuwaqa is left with nothing except the clothes on his back after a fire destroyed his house this morning in Vatuwaqa, Suva.

Vijay Singh says he was home with his daughter-in-law and grandson from the United States when a fire started in their kitchen.

Singh, who has mobility issues, says his daughter-in-law and grandson helped carry him outside as he watched all his years of hard work brought to the ground.

“It was an accident, we got two gas tanks there and both was full and my daughter-in-law she opened the wrong gas tank so when she opened the tank and light it and that’s when the fire started.”

Singh’s grandson Rahul Singh was speechless, as he only arrived in the country yesterday with his mother and did not expect things to turn tragic.

Rahul last visited his grandfather eight-years-ago and says he was still sleeping when the fire started.

“I was a sleep, I didn’t know what was happening and I heard everyone yelling my name, I got up and helped my granddad get out of the house.”

Rahul says they planned to return to the States after 30-days but this may change as they will now need to leave sooner.

He adds that they will move to a hotel as it is the only option left now; however, they are pleading for any aid that can assist his grandfather once they leave.

The three-bedroom house is shared with another family renting at the property, and they also lost everything in the fire.