KUCHING: A woman and her three children were rescued from their house after being trapped on the upper floor by a fire which broke out in the living room early yesterday.
A fireman monitors the situation outside Teo’s house.
The incident happened at Jalan Durian Burung around 2am when a prayer altar in the living room of the woman’s corner terraced house went up in flames and set fire to a section of the living room.
The 35-year-old woman and her three children – two girls aged three and 12 as well as a nine-year-old boy – ended up being trapped in their bedroom upstairs by thick smoke which cut off their escape route.
Fortunately for them, the children’s cries for help were heard by their next-door neighbour’s teenage daughter, who had yet to go to bed, prompting her to immediately alert her father and 17-year-old brother.
The father and his son, both of whom had previously taken part in a fire-fighting course, then grabbed a fire extinguisher from their house and headed next door, only to find the whole place locked up.
At that juncture, the woman’s husband – surnamed Teo – arrived home from work and upon seeing smoke billowing from a window on the upper floor, immediately opened the front and rear door to ventilate the house.
With the help of neighbours, Teo put out the fire in the living room before rushing upstairs to discover his wife and three children safe, albeit covered in soot and complaining of breathing difficulties.
All four were sent to the Sarawak General Hospital where they received outpatient treatment prior to being allowed to return home.
Teo, who works as a cook, said he had no idea what had happened until he arrived home, adding it was fortunate that he finished work earlier than usual yesterday.