A mishap that occurred during an attempt to extinguish a house fire in Tongatapu has become a subject of amusement on social media.
Critics attributed the failure of firefighters to control the blaze effectively to the incident.
It is understood that firefighters had been called to a house fire at Tokomololo on Friday afternoon.
A streamed video showed the moment when a fire hose from one of the fire trucks accidentally redirected water away from the flames instead of dousing them.
Some of the crowd of onlookers were quick to point out the error, capturing the moment on their phones and sharing them on Facebook.
One video showed that the incident came after a non-uniform firefighter wearing what appeared to be a pair of slippers ascended one of the engines, apparently to turn the hose on.
The hose appeared to have accidentally sprayed water onto a neighbouring property and the road instead of the fire’s source. This happened briefly before the firefighter gained control.
Laughter erupted and could be overheard over the videos, with many making fun of the situation.
Authorities could not be reached for comment.
