Quick action from the national fire authority averted a potential disaster in Tavua town this afternoon after an automotive paint shop caught fire.

Initial investigations show that the fire started from the paint shop's storage and mixing area and could have been caused by an electrical fault.

The NFA said they managed to avert a major disaster and brought the blaze under control as the building which houses the paint shop also has a grocery store on the ground floor and residential flats located on the upper level and the fire threatened to spread to other parts of the building as there were two 44 gallon drums of thinner located near the point of origin of the fire.