The Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority (F.E.S.A) Commissioner has stated that investigations are continuing into a fire that destroyed a family home at Siusega on Monday.

The F.E.S.A Commissioner Tanuvasa Petone Mauga confirmed the investigations in a telephone interview with the Samoa Observer on Tuesday.

"At this stage, investigation is continuing," Tanuvasa told the Samoa Observer.

"These types of situations will take a while to investigate.

"The difficulty is that a lot of evidence is burned. So investigations are continuing."

On Monday, the home of Ueta Key at Siusega was destroyed by fire. There were more than 10 firefighters on the scene including more than 5 Police officers from the Samoa Police Services (S.P.S) with their vehicles and four fire trucks from the F.E.S.A.

According to Tanuvasa, they had received the call at 3:20pm and had responded at 3:22pm, and had arrived at the scene at 3:24pm.

He said that their message in their awareness programmes continues, which is to be cautious of where matches, lighters and chemicals are placed.

Tanvasa was asked about how quickly a fire can burn a house and he said: "From my experience it all depends, it all comes down to what is about to be burned."

He explained that the fire will react to various types of fuel. 

"If the house is wooden then that is one way it would be quick. If it is a brick house, then it’s difficult for bricks to burn but wooden houses burn quickly," he said.

Tanuvasa explained that if a house is more than 20 years old then that is another reason a house burns quickly and added that the speed of the fire depends on the fuel that it consumes.

He reminded people to check their homes, especially in the morning especially after using items such as an iron, kettle and also mosquito coils. Tanuvasa also advised people to check their houses' electrical wiring.