SANDAKAN: Eight wooden houses were completely destroyed in a fire at Kampung Mangkalinau here late Thursday night.
Sandakan Fire and Rescue Station acting chief Hazmizan Maksit said his team received a distress call via the Mers999 hotline at 8.18pm before deploying 15 firefighters to the scene about four kilometres away.
The first engine arrived at 8.22pm and found the blaze involving eight wooden homes, each measuring about 15 by 20 feet, already burning fiercely.
Firefighters carried out both offensive and defensive operations using a 400-foot hose line and two jets drawing water from the fire engine’s tank to prevent the flames from spreading further.
The fire was fully brought under control by 8.38pm and the operation ended at 9.20pm, with no casualties reported while the cause and estimated losses remain under investigation.