JOHOR BARU: A fire tore through a palette recycling company in Taman Perindustrian Maju Jaya, Kempas here on Friday (May 29), sending clouds of thick black smoke billowing into the sky that were visible nearly 10km away.
It took 44 firefighters almost two hours to bring the massive blaze under control after it engulfed about 30,000sq ft, or roughly 80%, of the company's operations area.
Johor Fire and Rescue Department operations commander Muhammad Zaharul Asyraf said the department received an emergency call at 9.03am and firefighters arrived at the scene at 9.11am.
“When firefighters arrived, the fire had already spread extensively across the premises and thick smoke could be seen from several kilometres away,” he said when met at the site.
He said all workers managed to evacuate safely before firefighters arrived and no injuries or casualties were reported.
Muhammad Zaharul said firefighters faced difficulties due to low water pressure from the nearest fire hydrant, located about 800m from the premises.
“The hydrant was unable to provide sufficient water pressure, forcing us to source water from another hydrant located more than 1km away from the scene.
“To ensure a continuous water supply, five fire engines were positioned along the route to connect hoses and relay water to the firefighting operation,” he said.
A total of five fire engines, one water tanker and an Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) vehicle were deployed in this mission.
The blaze was eventually brought under control after nearly two hours, with firefighters continuing overhaul operations to extinguish remaining hotspots and prevent the fire from reigniting.
The cause of the fire and the estimated losses are still under investigation.
