MIRI: A fierce early-morning fire tore through a vacant two-storey house in Taman Futee Utama, Riam, reducing the entire structure to ashes before dawn today.
Firefighters from the Lopeng station were dispatched at 3.33 am and they reached the scene within minutes, arriving at 3.46 am after covering a 12-m stretch. By then, the 20-by-40-foot non-permanent structure was already fully engulfed.
The Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department Operations centre confirmed that the house had been abandoned and was burning at full intensity when the team moved in.
With no working fire hydrant in the immediate vicinity, firefighters were forced to rely on the engine’s water tank before securing supply from the nearest residential hydrant. The team deployed a 300-foot hose line and one nozzle to stop the fire from spreading.
The blaze was brought under control at 4.30 am, and operations wrapped up at 8.08 am after the firefighters completed checks and cooling efforts to prevent re-ignition.
Eleven personnel were involved, supported by a Fire Rescue Tender, an EMRS unit and a Navara. Sarawak Energy Berhad personnel were also at the scene to assist with electrical safety.
The homeowner, 68-year-old Lee Chee Jin, was not present during the incident. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
