KOTA KINABALU: Two teenage girls escaped a devastating house fire in rural Pitas early Tuesday (Sept 29) by jumping out of a window to safety, leaving them injured but alive.
The victims, aged 18 and 13, were trapped when flames engulfed two adjacent homes, a double-storey house and a stilt house, in Kampung Dandun around 4.30am. With their escape routes blocked by the fast-spreading fire, the pair were forced to leap from a window.
Pitas Fire Station Chief Noor Jali Maslah said the department received a distress call at 4.55am. Firefighters arrived at the scene, located about 23 km from the station, at 5.24am.
"Before our arrival, local villagers had been attempting to douse the flames and managed to rescue the two girls. They were immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment for their injuries," Noor Jali said in a statement.
Both houses were completely razed. Firefighters brought the blaze under control at 5.30am before conducting a thorough sweep for additional casualties and remaining hazards.
The operation was officially concluded at 8.24am. Noor Jali added that the cause of the fire and the total extent of the damage are currently under investigation.
