KUCHING: First responders from the Malaysian Red Crescent Sarawak Chapter were rushed to Kampung Semerah Padi, Petra Jaya, to carry out a preliminary assessment following a fire that destroyed a two-storey house there on Sunday afternoon (Sept 4).
The team was led by Chew Kim Soon who heads its Disaster Management and Humanitarian Support Committee.
According to Abdullah Aseng, who spoke on behalf of the victims, the blaze started at about 4.15pm.
He said the house inherited from his late father was inhabited by four generations of family members comprising 36 persons in total including 15 children and an eleven month old infant.
All the victims have since been relocated to the nearby Dewan Reakreasi Kampung Semerah Padi as their temporary shelter.
MRC Stampin Branch delivered clothing, face masks and hand sanitisers to the victims as their first batch of humanitarian assistance.
Chew said in a press release here that subsequent assistance will be based on actual need from assessment carried out from time to time.
He said the Sarawak Chapter will also be deploying its Disaster Management Sector Specialists and from the Kuching Branch to carry out in depth assessment to cater for the medium and long term needs of the victims.
On another matter, Abdullah who referred to a message on social media calling for emergency donations for the fire victims, said none of the victims had sanctioned the donation drive.
As such, Chew appealed to the public who are willing to donate cash, to come to Dewan Reakreasi Kampung Semerah Padi and liaise with Abdullah personally.
