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KOTA KINABALU, March 12 ― Some 73 homes were destroyed in the fire last night in Kampung Lok Urai on Gaya Island, causing hundreds to lose their homes including 85 people who have been evacuated to temporary shelters in the city.
The Fire and Rescue Department said that they received an emergency call at 8.32pm last night about the fire, which is on an island facing the city’s central business district, some 15 minutes away by boat.
“Some 40 firemen with a fire rescue tender engine and four more utility equipment went to the site and started putting out the fire.
“The fire razed 73 houses within a one acre radius, but left some 757 homes intact,” said a statement released by the department.
The men had used an open water source and created a fire break to cut off the fire from spreading.
The department reportedly put out the fire by 12.37am and no deaths were reported. However, the exact number of victims is undetermined given the large community involved.
Meanwhile, two temporary evacuation centres were opened on the mainland to house some 71 people who have lost their homes and did not have anywhere to stay.
The Sembulan centre is holding 58 people from 12 households while the Likas hall is sheltering 21 people from two households.
Kota Kinabalu city mayor Noorliza Awang Alip said that some villagers had already left the island and were staying with relatives.
Most of the homes on Gaya island are wooden stilt homes, made from wood and aluminium, and are tightly packed together, making it easy for the fire to spread.
Spread across 3,700 acres, the island is the largest in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park but a part of the island is not gazetted, and is home to thousands of locals, naturalised citizens and some undocumented migrants.
The north and east coast of the island houses several high end resorts.