Firefighters save shops in town

A QUICK response by firefighters helped contain a fire from gutting an entire row of shops in Madang town early yesterday.
Fire station commander Supt Robert Wandokun in a press release yesterday said firefighters responded to a fire call at around midnight to a row of shops located behind Beckslea Plaza in the centre of the town.
“From preliminary findings, we believe the fire started from inside one of the two Asian-operated shops that were totally destroyed by the fire,” he said. “I commend my five firefighters for ensuring the other remaining row of shops, a nearby bakery and the Puma Energy service station located 10 metres away, were protected and saved from the fire.”
Wandokun said the close proximity of the shops to each other caused the fire to spread quickly which gutted two shops in the middle.
“Water pressure was good, enabling the fire fighters to source from nearby fire hydrants while utilising the two fire engines to fight the blaze.”