Young boy playing with matches sparks blaze that razes two houses

KOTA KINABALU: A young boy playing with matches and setting pieces of paper on fire is believed to have caused a blaze that burnt down two houses in Tawau district on Wednesday (Sept 21).

Firemen at the scene were told that the boy, whose age was not disclosed at the time of writing, had placed burning pieces of paper under a wooden cupboard in the room he was in.

The cupboard then caught fire and the flames spread to other parts of the house on Lorong Haji Sundu, Batu 2, Jalan Apas, at around 9am.

It is learnt that the child’s elder sibling saw flames coming from the cupboard and the room and immediately alerted others, who then called the authorities.

Tawau Fire Station chief Julius John Stephen said they received a call at 9.37am.

He said the fire had already spread throughout the house, as well as the adjacent home, when firemen arrived.

Julius said six houses were damaged with two houses totally destroy in the fire.

He said they managed to bring the fire under control at 9.57am and operations ceased at 11.10am after firemen made sure that there were no other hazardous elements on scene.

“No one was injured,” he said, adding that the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Police are also investigating.