KAPIT: A 29-door longhouse was almost totally destroyed by fire early Sunday morning (Oct 12), leaving 28 residents homeless.
Rumah Liun at Nanga Pangai, Sungai Ibau, a semi-permanent longhouse, was about 90 per cent destroyed in the blaze.
The Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) said the blaze was believed to have started at 2.30am but that the village chief only managed to lodge a report at the Kapit Fire and Rescue Station at 10am, as there was no tele-communication coverage in the area.
“A team from the Kapit station, led by its chief Timoty Barat, was deployed to the scene about 61km away, and it took roughly one hour and 40 minutes to reach the site, travelling along logging roads and crossing a river.
“Initial findings reported that 13 units of the longhouse were vacant, while 16 were occupied by the 28 residents who were at the longhouse during the incident,” the department said in a statement.
Other agencies present at the scene to assist included the Royal Malaysia Police, the Social Welfare Department (JKM), Civil Defence Force (APM) and the Kapit District Office.
