Firefighters trying to control the blaze.
KUCHING: Fire destroyed two commercial-turn-residential units on the second floor of a shop block near Wisma Hock Lee here at 5.15pm yesterday.
A mother of four together with her three children, aged two to 11, were inside one of the units when the fire broke out while the family of the other unit was out for festive shopping.
In recalling the moment the disaster began, Raquel said the fire spread so swiftly that all she could think of was to get her children out of the building as soon as possible.
Her husband and the eldest son are currently in Kuala Lumpur.
“I could not be more shocked to see the fire, but I knew I had to get my children out. My 11-year-old son was taking his bath when the fire started, and all he had to cover himself while running was a towel.”
Raquel, who hails from the Philippines, said her family had been staying at the unit for over a year now.
She said she could not imagine something like this would happen.
When met by the press at the scene, she was seen with her 11-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter. She had left her toddler with her mother-in-law, who lives a couple of units away.
Another affected family has also been living there for a year. The couple, Walter Laing and Nohem were out doing festive shopping with their four children when the fire broke out.
Nohem, 36, said they hurried home as soon as someone rang them up about the incident. She said they could save nothing as it was too late by the time they reached there.
“My identification card, and everything else are gone,” she said in tears.
A reporter had to calm her down by saying such documents could be replaced which she agreed and that it was a relief no lives were lost.
Nohem, however, was upset now that all her Gawai goodies were gone with the fire. Later, she was seen speaking with Bandar Kuching MP and state DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen whose party headquarters is located across the road.
According to the Fire and Rescue Department Kuching Zone chief Tiong Ling Hii, the first fire engine arrived at the scene at 5.23pm and the fire was put out by 6pm.
“Twenty-five personnel from Padungan, Tabuan Jaya and Batu Lintang fire stations rushed to the scene.
“Two units were severely burnt down while an adjacent unit suffered 10 per cent damage.
“There are no victims in this case and based on the information we gathered, there were 11 residents in those two units.”
Tiong believed the fire spread very quickly due to the material of the ceiling, which was plywood.
He said the department could not provide a cause yet as the case was still being looked into.
“We will be able to find out more once we talk to the residents. As they are still in a state of shock, we will talk to them later.”