Fire guts home of Gerehu residents

A FAMILY from Hela in the Southern Highlands has been another victim of fire when their high covenant home was burnt to ashes around 9 o’clock yesterday morning.
This was the second fire in as many weeks – last week a house went up in flames when everyone was at work and their children were also at school at the Garden Hill in the National Capital.
Eyewitnesses said firemen at the scene could not stop the fire as it gutted the high-post building at Gerehu stage three, Simuna Street, section 296, lot 3, within minutes.
The owner Peterson Pipi, a Hela leader and an employee of Oil Search Ltd, who was on his way to Tari with the body of a relative, was shock when told of the news.
Eyewitnesses said that the fire started from one of the rooms on the first floor and spread quickly. Even belongings could not be saved.
The total cost of the properties and the building is expected to be over several thousands of kina.
The house girl, who was under the house doing the laundry, ran into the house and managed to drag the two little children out as the fire quickly spread through the house.
The house was made of treated wood.
The fire could have spread to other nearby houses but brave neighbours managed to stop it from spreading as they armed themselves with buckets of water and poured water on the other  buildings.
However, Pipi who was in  Tari. could  not comment as well as his wife who returned from the airport was lost for words when The National caught up with her near her home.
PNG Fire barricade investigators could not comment when interviewed as they were still investigating the cause of the fire.
Eyewitnesses also could not confirm how the fire started.
The National  also could not talk to the PNG fire brigade to get an update on whether investigations would be conducted into theincident.