Noodle factory up in flames

Raging destruction: (Left) The framework of the food processing plant in Kepala Batas is barely holding up as firefighters douse the flames. — Photo courtesy of Penang Kini. (Top) A recycling factory engulfed in flames in Pasir Gudang, Johor. — Bernama

KEPALA BATAS: Firemen took more than eight hours to put out a fire that destroyed a food processing factory in Jalan Lahar Kepah.

No casualties were reported in the fire that almost razed the factory that produces noodles.

Firefighters from the Bertam, Kepala Batas and Kuala Muda fire stations rushed to the scene after receiving a distress call at 3.30am yesterday.

They were assisted by voluntary firefighters from Kepala Batas who came in six fire engines.

A Penang Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said they put out the fire before noon.

North Seberang Prai OCPD Asst Comm Noorzainy Mohd Noor said the factory was already engulfed in fire when police reached the scene, adding that firemen were battling the blaze then.

He said that according to the 68-year-old owner, the factory was closed as its staff were away attending a team-building seminar in Ipoh for several days.

The factory, he added, had 150 employees, including foreign workers, some of whom lived nearby.

“The cause of the fire is still being investigated by the Fire and Rescue Department, ” he said.

Meanwhile, in Johor, a recycling factory in the Pasir Gudang industrial area caught fire early yesterday.

The operation commander (zone one) of the Fire and Rescue Department said they received a call about the blaze at 5.37am.

Forty firefighters from Pasir Gudang, Johor Jaya, Larkin, Tebrau, Penawar and Kempas were involved in efforts to douse the fire, according to Bernama.