Gawai fire damages 22-door longhouse

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IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE: Sng Chee Eng (fifth right) presents the donation to Jamit on behalf of George.

KAPIT: A fire on the second day of Gawai Dayak damaged four biliks of the 22-door Rumah Jamit Jingga in Nanga Letong, leaving 22 residents homeless.

The fire occurred around 8pm, just over four hours after another fire destroyed most of Rumah Chambok at KM3 Jalan Bukit Goram.

Headman Jamit Jingga filed a report on the incident at the Kapit police station on Tuesday and yesterday filed for assistance from the Kapit District Office and Welfare Department.

“The fire is believed to have started from a stove left unattended in a kitchen. It destroyed four bilik, affecting 22 residents. The other 18 bilik somehow were saved because of the determination and cool heads of the occupants to save their homes from the inferno.

“We were lucky to be able to prevent the fire from further destroying the rest of the longhouse, through our efforts to fight the fire,” he said.

Jamit later received a donation of RM1,200 from Pelagus assemblyman George Lagong to assist the fire victims.

Rumah Jamit is a new single-storey concrete longhouse located around two hours journey from Kapit.

This is the third fire in the division in less than two months.

The first at Kampung Baru on April 13 left 70 residents of rented houses homeless.