Twenty-three people are homeless after a fire destroyed four squatter houses in Tanjung Tokong, with all occupants escaping safely and no injuries reported.
GEORGE TOWN: Twenty-three people were left homeless after a fire destroyed four single-storey squatter houses in Tanjung Tokong early today.
The Penang Fire and Rescue Department received a distress call at 3.14am, with the first engine arriving seven minutes later.
Assistant director of operations John Sagun Francis said firefighters found the blaze engulfing the four houses, which measured between 55 and 75 square metres.
A Honda EX5 motorcycle belonging to one of the occupants was also destroyed in the fire.
The fire was brought under control by 3.42am to prevent it from spreading and was fully extinguished around 6am.
The houses were occupied by 23 residents from Malay and Rohingya families, comprising 10 adult men, six adult women and seven children.
All occupants managed to escape safely after realising a fire had broken out, and no injuries were reported.
