TAWAU, Jan 9 — A couple was found charred while seven other individuals had burns in a fire which razed about 40 houses in Kampung Sungai Buaya, Jalan Tawau Lama here late Saturday night.
The bodies of Saiful Rosli, 32, and Jumaidah M Jida, 36, were found by firemen early this morning after the blaze was extinguished when the operation ended at 6.20am, this morning.
Tawau Fire and Rescue Station chief, Julius John Stephen Jr said the station received a call on the incident at about 12.25am and 25 firefighters were despatched with two fire engines to the location.
“In the incident, a victim, Mutalib Suma, 45, suffered 86 per cent burns while a 26-year-old man and an 18-year-old girl had 17 per cent burns.
“Apart from that three girls and a boy aged between six and 12 had 1 to 6 per cent burns and all victims were brought to Tawau Hospital for treatment,” he told reporters here today.
He said the cause of fire and amount of losses were still being investigated.
In this regard, a fire victim, Mala Tipung, 46, cried when she found her house which had been left vacant for a week burnt to the ground.
“I went to my husband’s workplace a week ago in Sungai Burong Teck Guan, I came back this morning and found our house had been gutted, everything turned to ashes, not a single item was saved,” she told Bernama.
For Hasoni Basiah, 34, a loud knock on the door by his friend named Awil woke him up.
“I opened the door, my friend Awil was shouting ‘fire’ and I saw a big fire in my backyard and I quickly alerted my wife and sister-in -law, to save themselves,” he said, adding that he only had time to take important documents before dashing out for safety.
Nur Anita Saddu, 30, said her husband and two children managed to save themselves after hearing a dog barking loudly as if to warn them of something and after that the neighbors also shouted fire.
“When we left the house, the fire was already in our neighbour’s house, I only managed to take out the children’s clothes and my husband managed to move the car to a safe place,” she added.
Apart from that, Abbas Tenri, 49, said he could not save his sons’ birth certificates which were destroyed along with other items in the house in the fire.
“I and my seven children are safe, there are only two birth certificates that my children did not have time to take, I am also at a loss as the children will be starting school tomorrow but their school supplies are all destroyed,” he added.
Meanwhile, state Assistant Finance Minister Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan who is also Apas assemblyman, expressed his sympathy for all the fire victims.
He said the authorities including the Tawau District Disaster Committee and the Welfare Department,
are looking into all the needs of victims apart from calling on fire victims to be patient. — Bernama
