NFA Cautions Public on Road Accident Rescues

The National Fire Authority (NFA) has urged members of the public to be cautious when assisting in road accidents and to leave the task of rescuing trapped victims to trained firefighters.

NFA Chief Executive Officer Puamau Sowane made the call after two recent road accident rescue operations carried out by firefighters in Nabouwalu and Suva, one of which resulted in a fatality.

At 12.53 p.m. on Monday (27th October 2025), firefighters from the Nabouwalu Fire Station responded to an accident at Dama Junction along the Nabouwalu–Labasa Highway. A bus had collided with a truck, leaving one person trapped inside. The firefighters managed to safely extricate the victim, who was taken to the hospital with police assistance.

In another incident on 22nd October 2025, Suva firefighters responded to an accident at Edinburgh Drive, where a four-wheel drive had veered off the road and hit a lamp post. A 50-year-old man was trapped inside the vehicle and was rescued by NFA officers before being transported to CWM Hospital.

Mr Sowane said while the NFA appreciates members of the public stepping in to help during accidents, untrained assistance can often make the situation worse.

“We are grateful for the empathy shown by the public, but extrication should be left to those trained for this work,” he said. “Helping is good, but if you’re not trained for this specialist work, you could be causing more harm than good.”

He added that NFA’s Emergency First Responders have received international training in emergency medical techniques and are now expanding this training across Fiji.

The NFA reminds the public to call its toll-free emergency line 910 to report any road accidents immediately.