SANDAKAN, Sabah: Around 200 houses were destroyed in a fire that broke out at the water village of Kampung Bahagia here early today (April 19).
Sandakan Fire and Rescue Station Chief, Jimmy Lagung, said the blaze engulfed an area of more than four hectares, with low tide conditions hampering efforts to secure an adequate open water source for firefighting operations.
“Besides seawater, firefighting operations utilised water from tanker and pressurised hydrant belonging to a factory. Four hose lines stretching 1,000 feet and 12 water jets were used to extinguish the fire.
“A Fire Rescue Tender (FRT) from the Kinabatangan station also assisted in the operations, deploying two hose lines measuring 400 feet with four water jets,” he said in a statement.
Jimmy said the firefighting operations concluded at noon, and no casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, Sandakan Municipal Council’s President, Datuk Walter Kenson, said another relief centre (PPS) was opened at Sekolah Kebangsaan Gas here at 11:00 am, after the first centre at the Batu Sapi People’s Housing Project (PPR) Hall was opened at 7:00 am.
He said the centre was opened after inspections found the affected residential areas unsafe for occupation, and a disaster declaration for the Sandakan district had been issued by the council.
According to unofficial information from the Sabah State Disaster Management Committee as at 10:30 am, the PPS at the Batu Sapi PPR Hall recorded 143 heads of households involving 661 victims, with the Social Welfare Department and Civil Defence Force continuing the registration process. – BERNAMA
