Arson: Family of four saved from fiery death

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QUICK ACTION: Firemen trying to revive Goh’s wife.

FIRE DOUSED: The aftermath of the 3.30am fire, after firemen broke down the front grill to gain entry.

EMERGENCY: Rescue workers performing CPR on the 6-year-old victim.

AID: Firemen trying to revive Goh.

PROBE: Inspector Hairul Hussin (centre) and forensics from Bomba combing the scene of the fire.

SIBU: Quick action by firemen saved a family of four, including a one-year-old boy, from fiery death in the wee hours of yesterday.

Firemen, who rushed to the double-storey terrace house at Lorong Deshon 18B after being alerted of the 3.30am fire, forced open the grill on the front door to gain entry into the house.

The five firemen who scrambled inside found the 30-year-old house owner surnamed Goh who is a car salesman, his 29-year-old wife who is a teacher, and their six-year-old daughter and one-year-old son unconscious in the master bedroom on the upper floor.

They quickly carried the four to the verandah at the back of the house and moved them to the verandah of a neighbour’s house to safety.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was immediately performed to revive the four.

But as the one-year-old boy was in a serious condition due to smoke inhalation, a police car rushed him to the hospital. He is now in the Intensive Care Unit.

His father and mother suffered burns on their hands, but they, together with his sister, are said to be in stable condition.

Sibu police chief ACP Shafie Ismail, when contacted yesterday, said the case had been classified as arson, but he could not confirm whether molotov cocktails were hurled at the house.

“The house owner stopped his diesel trade two months ago. We are investigating the motive behind the arson,” he said.

The fire was believed to have started at about 3.30am. A next door neighbour was awoken by the smell of smoke and sounds of explosions outside.

When she rushed out to check, she saw fire engulfing the car porch of Goh’s house.

“The fire was huge. I quickly rushed into my house and woke up everybody,” she said, adding that the roof of her car porch was partially burnt by then.

She then alerted the Fire Rescue Department (Bomba).

Goh’s other next door neighbour also scrambled to safety as the roof of their car porch was also on fire.

Firemen from Central and Sungai Merah stations arrived soon thereafter and sprang into action.

Besides the car porch in Goh’s house, also destroyed was the kitchen, a Perodua Viva and a 4-wheel-drive vehicle with an oil tank on the trunk compartment. The first floor was partially destroyed.

It is believed that Goh had borrowed the Perodua Viva from the brother of a friend.