2 Feb 2004

Fiji police probe Levuka fire

2:17 pm on 2 February 2004

Fiji police are investigating the cause for the two fires in Levuka in the early hours of Sunday.

The fire began after midnight and burned the Westpac bank office, a supermarket and an Air Fiji office.

Levuka Town Council mayor Mosese Vunivutu says thanks to the fire police nobody was hurt.

"Police are continuing their investigation with the fire people. And eventually, we'll try to clean up the mess because at the other end of the town they are trying to rebuild the earlier victims of a fire, that was the Mavinda guesthouse, that's being rebuilt now. But unfortunately this was at the opposite end of the town. We were lucky that the fire brigade was able to control the fire and stop it from spreading to other shopping centers."

The mayor says the town is full of 19th century buildings awaiting to be listed as world heritage by UNESCO.