MELAKA, Feb 5 — A fire involving piles of wood and used tyres at Jalan KSB Impression 8 in Kota Syahbandar here spread to 3.24 hectares of scrubland at noon today.

Melaka Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) public relations officer Deputy Fire Superintendent II Mohd Hafidzatullah Rashid said that as of 5.30 pm, firefighting operations were still ongoing with 26 firefighters from four Fire and Rescue Stations (BBP) in the state.

“BBP Melaka Tengah received an emergency call at 12.28 pm and arrived at the scene about two minutes later, with the fire brought under control at 4.59 pm.

“The operation was also assisted by BBP Bukit Katil, Tangga Batu and Padang Temu, involving three fire engines and two water tankers,” he said in a statement here.

He said initial checks found that the incident was believed to have been caused by a fire involving piles of wood and used tyres in the area.

However, he said the extinguishing operation took longer as it involved a large area, with hot and dry weather conditions causing the fire to spread rapidly. — Bernama