The Fire and Emergency Services Authority [F.E.S.A.] has appealed to truck drivers to start installing fire extinguishers in their vehicles.

F.E.S.A. Assistant Commissioner, Tanuvasa Petone Mauga, told the Samoa Observer in an interview that trucks and their cargo can be prone to fires and having a fire extinguisher on hand can assist before first responders arrive.

He said this when commenting on an incident involving a truck owned by the Siliva Company, which burst into flames on Tuesday on the main road within the vicinity of Vailima before the Police and firefighters arrived.

“Based on our responding crew yesterday, once we received the call we sent a team up there immediately and the fire was already [at its worst],” he said.

“We later sent another team as the first responding team informed us that there was an excavator on the truck.

“It was lucky that the first team arrived early and they managed to contain the fire [from reaching the excavator].”

Asked what caused the fire, Tanuvasa said their team could not identify the cause as the truck was entirely engulfed by the fire.

“With things like these, it’s usually suspected to have been caused by short wires or cablings,” he said.

Fortunately, no one was injured by the fire including the truck drivers.

Tanuvasa urged truck drivers to start emphasising the essence and presence of fire extinguishers in their trucks at any time.

“Our advice remains emphasised, we are always giving out the warnings to the public and to make sure that their vehicles and what they’re carrying is safe,” he further reiterated. “We should push for these trucks to take fire extinguishers on board in such cases like this. They are essential for the initial state of any fire so it’s safer to have them around.”