A SIXTY-TWO-year-old man died in a house fire at Field 28, Ba, yesterday morning.
According to the National Fire Authority, the man died around 9am after a domestic dispute with his wife.
NFA officials arrived at the scene of the fire at Rarawai Housing Settlement to find the three-bedroom house in flames with the deceased still inside.
In a statement, NFA revealed initial investigations indicated the victim had allegedly poured kerosene on himself and the three-bedroom house before setting it on fire. Reiterating concerns for the public not to take matters into their own hands, NFA chief executive officer John O'Connor said people should never start fires with the intention to harm themselves because they were compromising the safety and wellbeing of their family members, their property and other members of the community.
"This year NFA has attended to six deliberately lit or arson fire cases which have become a concern to the NFA as this has put the lives of other family members at risk.
"Our plea to the members of the community is to refrain from starting fires as fire is the most dangerous disaster that is hard to stop when it starts," said Mr O'Connor.
This incident takes the total number of property fires to 27 and the second fatal fire for 2013.