KOTA KINABALU: The Fire and Rescue Department's 'offensive and defensive fire fighting mechanism' saved some 1,300 village homes from going up in flames in Tawau.
In the 9am fire on Friday (Aug 1), villagers of Kg Kurnia Jaya, whose houses were ablaze, managed to evade serious injuries as they scrambled to safety.
Firefighters received the distress call at around 9.37am and arrived at the scene at around 9.48am, by which time some 20 houses were already on fire.
“We used an offensive and defensive approach where we cut off the fire from a safe radius first,” said Tawau Fire Department operations officer Madzlan Sharman.
They used water from fire trucks as well as seawater nearby to put out the flames.
The tactic was a success, considering only 26 out of the thousand-plus closely built structures were destroyed.
“We brought the fire under control at 10.14am and operations on site ceased at 11.45am,” he said.
He added that no one was injured in the incident. Investigations into the cause of the fire is in progress.
Madzlan said the displaced victims are staying at a temporary relief centre, with some seeking shelter at their relatives and friends’ houses.
Those involved in the response and rescue operation included community firefighters, police, health officials, civil defence officials and Sabah Electricity personnel.
