A major fire broke out at a white goods store in Viti on Thursday midday, causing significant material damage, while no injuries were reported.

Firefighters responded immediately and managed to extinguish the blaze.

The Commander of the Fire and Rescue Service in the municipality of Viti, Hetem Jakupi, told KosovaPress that the causes of the fire are still unknown, but he did not rule out the possibility that electricity may have triggered the large blaze.

“A fire occurred and fire crews were alerted. They immediately took action with two vehicles at first, and later other vehicles arrived. It was a white goods store. We do not know the value, but it is significant and the damage is great… At the moment the causes are unknown, because until the situation is stabilized, fire prevention inspectors and other personnel conduct a detailed investigation of the site to determine the origin and cause of the fire… It could be electricity. There are many factors that can cause fires,” he said.

Commander Jakupi also said the fire posed a high risk to the firefighting teams.

“I work as a barber here and when I went out I saw smoke on both sides. From what I can see, it seems to be from electricity; there is nothing else that could have caused it. Firefighters arrived within five minutes,” he said.

Police units, criminal investigators, and the state prosecutor were also notified and arrived at the scene, while the mayor of Viti, Sokol Haliti, also visited to assess the situation.

KosovaPress also attempted to obtain statements from the shop owners, but they declined to speak.