SIBU: An early Sunday (March 12) morning fire destroyed six shop lots which were built in the 1950s.
Fire and Rescue Department Sibu chief Andy Alie said firemen managed to stop the fire from spreading to the other four shop lots which are located in the Butterfly Garden in the central business district of the town.
"The six shop lots housed 17 shops selling a host of items. 16 of them were totally destroyed in the fire while the other one was partially destroyed," he said.
Alie said they received a distress call at 2.23am concerning a shophouse fire at the Butterfly Garden.
A team of 29 firefighters from Central, Sungai Merah and Sibujaya fire stations were immediately deployed to the scene.
It took firefighters almost two and a half hours to control the flame.
"We are investigating the cause of the fire," he said.
