KUCHING: Rumah Kilau resident Chetang Ngumbang, 62, who was critically injured when fire razed his longhouse at about 1am on Tuesday, died on the way to Sibu Hospital.
This brings the death toll from the fire to two. His 28-year-old daughter Salam was burnt to death inside the 33-door longhouse which is located at Nanga Lijau in Kapit.
State Fire and Rescue Services Department (Bomba) director Nor Hisham Mohammad, who gave these details, said the deaths of Chetang and Salam, who has a 12-year-old son, represented the first deaths due to longhouse fire in the state so far this year.
As of Tuesday, he said, there had been four fires involving longhouses in the state.
He said there were five cases during the same period last year.
On the incident at Rumah Kilau, which left 260 residents homeless, Nor Hisham said everyone fled the fire but Chetang rushed back in when he realised that Salam was still inside.
“But he failed to find her,” he told a press conference after closing the Bomba Science Certificate Course at the Tabuan Jaya Fire Station yesterday.
He added that although the fire broke out at about 1am, Bomba only received the distress signal two hours later.
“Upon the arrival of the firemen, the longhouse has been razed to the ground.”
The cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained, but, according to witnesses, it could be due to the power generator or faulty wiring.
“Our condolences to the victims’ families, but at the same time we want to remind people to always save themselves first and do not take any action if the fire is too big,” said Nor Hisham.
The Welfare Department has rushed emergency aid to those affected, and Katibas assemblyman Datuk Ambrose Blikau also visited them on Tuesday to lend a helping hand.