A LATE night fire that broke out in the middle of Tavua Town resulted in the complete destruction of a popular supermarket.
Shop N Save Supermarket’s Tavua branch was engulfed in flames on Sunday night as the authorities battled to control the blaze that broke out at around 10pm.
National Fire Authority CEO John O’Connor said police officers reported the incident to the Tavua Fire Station after noticing smoke coming out of the back of the building.
“We received the call at around 10:51 and our officers responded to the call immediately,” he said.
“While trying to contain the fire at the back of the building, it quickly spread to the front of the supermarket.
“By this time it had also threatened to spill over to nearby buildings but we managed to contain it.”
Mr O’Connor said there was a substantial amount of damage caused to the supermarket.
“There was quite a bit of damage and the contents of the supermarket were also completely destroyed.
“There were a lot of highly flammable things inside which caused the fire to spread quickly.”
He said initial investigations suggest there could have been several causes.
FNA was still investigating the incident and Mr O’Connor said they should have something conclusive soon.