An early morning fire today destroyed Vinod Patel & Company's Rakiraki store.

National Fire Authority chief executive John O'Connor said the fire started before 3am.

"By the time our firefighters arrived, the store was fully engulfed in flames," O'Connor said.

"So they had to focus on containg the fire to prevent it from spreading."

The cause of the fire is still to be ascertained as investigations will start proper this morning. The store was vacant at the time of the fire.

FijiLive