KOTA SAMARAHAN: School teacher Dayang Romina Awang Ali was on her way back home with her seven-year-old son yesterday when a neighbour called and said her house in Taman Samarindah was on fire.
The SK Mata Parang teacher who was driving home did not realise the seriousness of the situation.
“At first, I did not realise how big the fire was until a fire engine appeared behind me and overtook my car,” said the 38-year-old Romina, who has been teaching Science and Bahasa Malaysia for the past 17 years.
The fire was believed to have broken out around 1.40pm and rapidly razed the kitchen and living room of Romina’s house, destroying all of her furniture and electrical appliances.
Her bedroom and her children’s room were spared from destruction.
Fortunately, no one was at home at the time of fire.
Her husband, Rumaizi Abdul Ghani, a teacher at SK Haji Bujang Ranggawan, had not yet returned while their two elder daughters, aged 15 and 16, were at their respective boarding schools.
The couple purchased the single-storey intermediate house in 2004 but only moved in last year.
Firemen from the Samarahan station rushed to the scene following a distress call and took several minutes to contain the fire from spreading to adjacent houses before extinguishing the flames altogether.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Romina, meanwhile, said the family would either rent house or stay at the teachers’ quarters of her husband’s school for the time being.