More than 10 houses destroyed in a fire at a water village at Kampung Tanjung Aru Baru on Tuesday.
KOTA KINABALU: More than 10 families lost their homes in a fire at a water village at Kampung Tanjung Aru Baru, here early Tuesday morning.
State Fire and Rescue Department Public Relations Officer Mohd Affendy Ramin said firefighters from the Sembulan and Penampang Fire Stations rushed to the location upon receiving a distress call at 7am.
“The first fire and rescue team arrived at the scene at 7.08am followed by teams from Penampang.
“We managed to control the blaze by 7.58am before ending the operation a couple of hours later,” he said.
Mohd Affendy said the cause of the fire is still under investigation but believed it started from one of the houses.
“The fire spread quickly as it was built quite close to one another.
“We are still investigating the cause of the fire and total loss,” he said, adding that no untoward incident was reported.
Meanwhile, State Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Minister Shahelmey Yahya, when met at the scene on Tuesday, said the fire victims will be placed at a temporary shelter.
“We are in the process of registering them (fire victims) and will provide all the necessary aids such as food and essential items to them,” he said.
Also at the site were City Hall Mayor Noorliza Awang Alip, Sabah Social Welfare Department Deputy Director Dayang Rugayah Awang Besar, and Tanjung Aru Community Development Leader Mohd Reduan Aklee.
This is the second fire in Tanjung Aru this year.
The first incident on May 25 destroyed 33 houses at Kg Tanjung Aru.
Meanwhile, the Sabah Disaster Management Committee secretariat said a relief centre had been opened to accommodate the fire victims and another one for the 37 fire victims at Kampung Panji Darat in Semporna who lost their homes on Monday.