SIBU: A total of 66 residents survived a fire that destroyed seven houses in Kampung Hilir here on Friday (July 25), making it the second fire incident in the area within 10 months.
The head of Zone 4 of the Sarawak Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Andy Alie said his team received an emergency call about the fire at about 8.13am.
Fire Rescue Team (PKO) from the Sibu Sentral Fire and Rescue Station (BBP), Sungai Merah BBP and Sibu Jaya BBP, with a 25-member force, were deployed to the location, he said in a statement Friday.
"In the incident, five non-permanent houses, including one that was unoccupied, were gutted. Two other houses were damaged by 20%, while six nearby houses were saved," he said.
According to him, the fire was completely controlled and prevented from spreading to nearby houses at about 9.10am, and the firefighting operation ended at noon.
The cause of the fire and total losses are under investigation.
In September last year, 15 houses close to today's location were destroyed in the same village, leaving 150 residents homeless. - Bernama
