KUCHING: Quick thinking by a longhouse resident helped prevent the 24-door dwelling from being razed to the ground in Saratok.
In the Jan 10 fire, Rumah Panjang Dennis Nyalamba village development and security committee (JKKK) secretary Anthony Gasah Ipun summoned its inhabitants swing into action when he saw the tell-tale smoke.
“Forget saving your belongings and prioritise putting out the fire before it burns down the longhouse,” he recalled telling them.
As things turned out the fire destroyed one of the doors but was quickly put out before it did more damage.
“At the time, I was just outside the longhouse and heard a mother crying for help. When I turned, I saw thick white smoke coming from one of the doors.
“I quickly instructed the young men to get the fire extinguishers,” he said after a ‘Hero Bomba’ Certificate of Appreciation presentation ceremony at the Sarawak Fire Department Headquarters here on Tuesday (Jan 18).
“If we had not acted quickly, a four-year-old boy inside, would have burnt alive. Thankfully, the child was unharmed as he was hiding under a blanket.
“We did not know there was a boy in the room until he started crying after we extinguished the fire,” he said.
Gasah was among seven longhouse residents awarded appreciation certificates for their brave efforts in putting out the flames at Saratok on Jan 10.
The other six are Asson Juan, 48, Anyai Jingan, 52, Spencer Nanang Anji, 35, Evanda Dana Manan, 18, Evanhoe Melaka Manan, 18, and Slyvester Undi Asson, 16.
Twin brothers, Evanda and Evanhoe, said they were taught how to use the fire extinguisher in school.
Also awarded a certificate of appreciation was Lowe Lian Khin, 62, who helped save a two-year-old girl from a burning house in Kampung Cina, Siburan on Jan 7.
Sarawak Fire Department director Datuk Khirudin Drahman who presented the certificates to the recipients, said the department will continue to carry out the community engagement and education programme to train them on how to properly use fire extinguishers and emphasise the importance of fire prevention.
“We keep telling the community that we want to meet them before a fire happens and not after.
“We must always practice the 3Ps – Prevention, Precaution and Protection, and do not forget about 3Ls – Lupa, Leka dan Lalai (forgetfulness, carelessness and negligent attitudes of the public),” he said.
