MIRI: Three serious fire outbreaks were reported in three separate locations in the northern and central regions of Sarawak over the past 24 hours, with one person found dead and two injured in these fiery incidents.
In Tatau district in northern Sarawak, a 1:00 am fire in the predawn hours today saw nine shophouses razed to the ground.
The fire took place in the bazaar at Jalan Tatau Sangan, said the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department in its press updates.
Tatau Bomba station responded to an emergency alert shortly before 1:00 am and deployed more than a dozen firefighters to the scene.
“Upon arrival, our team saw a row of wooden shophouses engulfed in flames (see pic).
“Nine shophouses were already on fire.
“Ten cars and three motorcycles were also caught in the blaze,” said the press statement.
Firefighters at the scene said all the occupants in the shops managed to escape the fire.
However, a man aged 26 and a woman aged 27 suffered burns to their arms and were referred to medics for help.
The fire was doused at about 8:20 am this morning.
The cause of this Tatau fire is still being probed.
Over in Lawas district in northernmost Sarawak, a predawn fire in a housing area in Lawas town saw an elderly man burned to death, said Sarawak Bomba.
“Bomba Lawas fire-fighters responded to an emergency alert at 4:18 am Friday and rushed to the scene and found a house engulfed in flames.
“The fire personnel used pumps and hoses to douse the fire and prevent it from spreading.
“The fire was doused at about 6:00 am.
“A search in the rubbles found the charred remains of an elderly man (see pic).

“Two other men aged 31 and 32 had managed to escape unharmed,” said Bomba Sarawak.
The deceased have been identified as Dudol Karim aged 89.
The case have been handed over to the police and the cause of this tragic Lawas fire is being probed.
Over in Sibu district in central Sarawak, firefighters are fighting a fire outbreak in a vast oil palm plantation located along Mile 9 of Jalan Oya.
Sibu Bomba said the fire has spread across some 60 hectares, burning through plots of palm oil trees.
The fire had also spread into a forest adjacent the plantation, said Bomba Sibu in its latest updates.
Firefighters from the Sibu and Sungai Merah stations are still fighting the flames at the scene.
The Sarawak Natural Resources and Environment Board have also been informed and the cause of this plantation fire is still being probed.