GEORGE TOWN: Fears that a fire at a row of wooden workshops could spread to the historic clan jetties sent 143 volunteer firefighters rushing to the scene as flames raged less than 20m from Chew Jetty.
The volunteers, from 18 volunteer fire brigades including those based as far away as Valdor town on the mainland, joined 25 personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department in battling the blaze at Pengkalan Weld.
The fire, which broke out at about 1am yesterday, destroyed or damaged five premises, including an automobile workshop, car spray-painting workshop, furniture workshop, printing shop and scrap shop.
Penang Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations John Sagun Francis said firefighters received the distress call at 1.08am and arrived at the scene three minutes later.
He said the fire was brought under control at 2.03am, although firefighting operations continued until late morning because of large stacks of timber at the furniture workshop.
“The challenge is the large stacks of timber. There are still pockets of fire underneath the timber that cannot be seen,” he said at the scene.
An excavator was brought in around noon to move the timber and enable firefighters to reach smouldering hotspots.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow confirmed that Chew Jetty itself was not affected by the fire.
“It is safe and is not damaged at all,” he said after visiting the site yesterday.
The historic clan jetty is among Penang’s oldest Chinese clan jetties and is a popular tourist attraction, known for its traditional stilt houses, wooden walkways and cultural heritage.
The blaze also burned four cars parked at the automobile workshop. No casualties were reported.
Chow said the authorities would await the outcome of investigations to determine the cause of the fire.
He said the site was on state government land and the premises were believed to be operating either under temporary occupation licences or land rental arrangements with Chief Minister Incorporated.
“The state government will deal with the matter and provide assistance during the rebuilding,” he said.
The blaze caused considerable concern among residents of Chew Jetty, who feared that flying embers and strong winds could ignite the wooden structures on the nearby jetty.
Resident AL Chew said her husband heard crackling sounds around midnight, spotted the fire and woke her before alerting neighbours.
Residents tried using the jetty’s fire hoses, but the flames were too far away to be reached.
“My relatives and neighbours ran door-to-door shouting for everyone to evacuate, with many grabbing only essential documents,” she said.
Although the fire was initially brought under control at about 2am, piles of timber flared up again around 3am, she said.
“When winds picked up between 3am and 4am, flying embers forced us to douse our roofs with water. It was terrifying as the flames were so close.”
Auto service centre operator Datuk Leong Kah Fok, 67, said the fire damaged a wall and destroyed several vehicles, resulting in estimated losses of RM500,000.
State executive councillor Lim Siew Khim, Tanjong MP Lim Hui Ying and Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Wong Yuee Harng also visited the scene.
