Some of the houses being destroyed by fire at Kampung Pasir Putih in Putatan yesterday.
PENAMPANG: About 55 houses were yesterday destroyed by fire at Kampung Pasir Putih in Putatan.
Penampang police chief DSP Haris Ibrahim said close to 60 families were affected in the 12.50pm incident but no one was reported injured.
He said efforts were being made to place the affected victims at the Putatan Community Hall and the Mini Putatan Hall temporarily, while some victims put up at their relatives’ homes.
Meanwhile, Assistant Minister of Law and Native Affairs Datuk Uda Sulai, who was at the scene yesterday, urged the public to remain calm and let the Fire and Rescue Department investigate the cause of the fire.
Uda (centre) visiting the fire victims at the Putatan Community Hall.
“Our main priority right now is to account for all the victims; how many houses were affected and how to shelter them and provide them with the necessities,” said Uda, who is also the Putatan assemblyman.
Meanwhile, Kota Kinabalu Fire and Rescue Department chief of operations Hamsa Isnurdin, who led the operation, said about 40 firefighters in six fire engines from Penampang, Lintas and Sembulan were deployed to the scene to control the blaze.
The Kota Kinabalu International Airport fire and rescue team was also involved in the operation.
Hamsa said it took about three hours for firefighters to control the blaze due to low water pressure while most of the houses were build close to one another.
The firefighters managed to control the fire by 4.30pm while no untoward incident was received from the department, he said.