Two charred motorcycle frames seen in the aftermath of the fire.
KUCHING (Aug 11): Several of the 150 residents of a 21-door longhouse at Kampung Sekubang, Batu Kawah Lama near here had to jump into the river to save themselves after a fire razed their longhouse to the ground Monday evening.
Joseph
A resident in his 40s, who identified himself as Joseph, told reporters that residents initially tried to put out the fire but were unsuccessful, adding the flames spread very quickly and it was very smoky.
“At that time, our only thought was our safety and our families, so some residents jumped into the river to save themselves. Our belongings could not be saved,” he said when met yesterday.
Changgi
Another resident, Changgi, 44, said the screams of other residents alerted him to the fire.
“My wife, our children aged 4 and 2, and myself were in our ‘bilik’ (unit) when we heard screaming. I went out to check and saw the fire had spread to the seventh bilik and rushed back to save my family from our bilik, which was the 18th unit, he said.
He said he managed to save some important documents and a motorcycle but lost everything else to the fire including two other motorcycles.
Residents estimated about eight motorcycles and one car were destroyed in the fire.
No casualties were reported in the incident, with all the victims currently putting up at a school hall located nearest to them.
According to Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department operations centre, personnel from Batu Lintang and Petra Jaya stations were deployed when a report was received at 7.26pm.
The commander in-charge of the operation reported that the fire had destroyed the entire longhouse and fire engines could not gain access to the longhouse as the road leading to it was very narrow.
The case is currently being investigated by the department’s forensic unit.