Villagers helping the fire and rescue personnel to put out the fire.
PUTATAN: Five members of a family were made homeless after a fire destroyed their home at Taman Jumbo in Petagas here on Thursday.
It was believed that the fire was due to a short-circuit in one of the
double-storey houses around 9pm.
According to Mohd Hazrul Hairi Jabir, 25, prior to the incident, the main electric switch in his house had tripped and caused a blackout around 6pm.
“I then called Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) personnel and they came to replace the fuse around 8.30pm,” he said when met at the scene yesterday.
After the electricity power was restored, he and his family sat down for dinner and then heard an explosion and smelt something burning from the upper floor.
Mohd Hazrul and his family tried to put out the fire in a room on the first floor, but to no avail.
Meanwhile, Fire and Rescue Services Department public relations officer Mohd Affendy Ramin said the department received a distress call at 9.15pm and immediately sent 17 personnel in three fire engines to the scene within 12 minutes.
“We managed to put the fire under control around 10pm while the operation ended around midnight,” he said.
Mohd Affendy said the department was still investigating the actual cause of the fire and losses.