TAWAU: Sixteen wooden houses were destroyed in a fire at Lorong Fook Hwa, Batu 2, Jalan Apas here, on Friday night.
Tawau Zone Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Chief Moiley Milin said the department received an emergency call through NG999 at 9.31pm, prompting 45 firefighters to the scene located 3km from the station.
“Firefighting operations used water from fire engines, a nearby hydrant and an open water source. About 300 houses were saved,” he said, Saturday.
He said the fire spread quickly due to strong winds and because the houses were closely situated.
No casualties were reported and the operation ended at 3.25am, he added.
The cause of the fire and total losses are under investigation.
Meanwhile, victims of the fire said they managed to save only important documents and were left with nothing, but were grateful that no lives were lost.
The Social Welfare Department (JKM) recorded 254 victims from 67 Malaysian household heads and one non-Malaysian household head.
The victims included 39 boys, 41 girls, five male babies and four female babies, as well as six elderly men and 11 elderly women, with the remaining victims comprising 83 adult men and 70 adult women.
For Murni Barudin, 39, who has experienced two fires, her priority was to ensure the safety of her eight children and save their important documents.
“At the time, only two of my children, aged six and one year and six months, and I were asleep, as the others were still playing outside, while my husband was working at the camp. I woke up when I heard people shouting fire and immediately went outside to check. At that time, the fire was still far away, and I did not expect it to reach our house.
“Everything was burnt down. We did not have time to save anything. I only took our important documents and left the house carrying my child,” she said.
Nasruddin Lakami, 40, said his family also managed to save only important documents before fleeing their burning home.
He had just finished eating when he heard a neighbour shouting fire and went outside to investigate.
“At that time, only one house was on fire. My house was just a few metres away, and I did not expect the flames to spread so quickly. We managed to save a gas cylinder and a fan, which was light enough to carry,” he said.
Akmat Abd Rashid, 51, whose house was not affected, said he helped residents salvage whatever belongings they could and attempted to put out the fire using water from a roadside drain.
“I happened to still be awake and was resting in my room after returning from Isyak prayers at the mosque. I went straight outside after my sister told me there was a fire. The flames were intense and spread very quickly,” he said.
Akmat was grateful that no lives were lost, noting that this was the second major fire to hit their village, with the previous incident involving only six houses.
