Kota Kinabalu: Five houses and three vehicles, including a motorcycle, were destroyed in a fire in Kg Kopungit along Jalan Maktab Sabah, here, Friday.
One of the victims, Jeffrey, 59, of Papar, said he built his four-bedroom house on the site in 1983 where his four children lived.
“When I was informed of the fire, I rushed to the site. They had all left for work about 7am,” he said, adding the fire started at 8am.
“We were unable to save anything,” he said.
“Everything, even our air-conditioner and washing machine, went up in flames,” he said, estimating losses around RM200,000.
Nora, 29, was at home with her mother, Ruhur, 62, and child when the fire broke out.
“We were eating noodles when we saw the flames,” Nora said, adding they immediately fled the house. It was shocking how rapidly the fire spread…even my car was destroyed,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ruhur said they had lived in the house for the past 30 years and that the house was shared by three families comprising eight members. Following an 8.05am distress call, firefighters from Kota Kinabalu and Penampang, led by Christie Foo, rushed to the scene.
The police, Civil Defence Force and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd were also on hand to help. The fire was brought under control at 9.02am and the operation ended at 1.54pm.
No casualties were reported and the cause of the fire and losses are still being investigated.
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