PENRISSEN: A Form One student and her grandfather managed to flee to safety when fire razed two semi-concrete houses at Lorong C, Kampung Benuk, Jalan Puncak Borneo here yesterday.
No casualties and injuries were reported.
Several villagers were seen trying to put out the fire before the firemen arrived.
Firemen from Siburan and Batu Lintang arrived at the place at 9.40am after being alerted at 9.24am.
“I heard someone knocking on my door saying that our house was on fire. I quickly alerted my grandfather who was staying next door. We rushed out and could not save anything except for my school bag,” said Cloudia Mayra Tovis, 13, an afternoon student at SMK Siburan.
Her grandfather Medi Sata, 76, said he could save nothing from the house.
He said all his family members were out working when the fire broke out.
There were six people living in the house where Cloudia stayed and seven in her grandfather’s house, but the others were all working in town and her father was in his farm.
Siburan Fire and Rescue Station chief Sulaiman Ahmat who was met at the scene said his men stopped the fire from spreading to nearby houses and managed to completely put it out within 30 minutes.
He said they did not face any problem with the fire hydrants and the water pressure at the scene was high except for the narrow road in the village.
“The cause of the fire is still under investigation,” he said, adding there were 11 firemen from Siburan Fire and Rescue Station, seven from Batu Lintang and six from Kampung Simpok volunteer firefighters team at the scene of the fire.
A team from the Welfare Department also came to deliver food to the victims.
Puncak Borneo Member of Parliament Willie Mongin said he will visit the families either today or tomorrow, adding that he has asked his team to visit the families and deliver to them the necessary assistance.
