SANDAKAN: Four wooden houses and a KEMAS kindergarten at Kampung Melayu Bumiputera water village in Sim-Sim here were razed by fire yesterday afternoon.
The house of 74-year-old village chief Yussof Omar located behind the kindergarten was among those affected.
Yussof said that the fire started from a nearby house and because of the close proximity of the wooden houses, the flames spread rapidly to his house.
Yussof said he had just returned home after attending a wedding ceremony when the fire occurred and was relieved and happy that his wife was safe and unharmed.
“My wife, Mastura Akman, 64, is unable to walk since five years ago and had to be assisted by children and neighbours to walk out from the house.
“We were unable to save any of our belongings as the smoke and heat from the fire was unbearable,” he said.
All the four houses and the kindergarten were burnt to the ground. Also affected by the fire was the multipurpose hall located near the KEMAS kindergarten.
According to Sandakan Fire and Rescue Department zone chief Anddre Andrew, the station received a distress call at 2.14pm and despatched 23 firefighters with three fire engines and three utility vehicles, reaching the scene at 2.21pm.
The fire was extinguished at 2.58pm with the help of the villagers, police, Civil Defence Department and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd.
There was no reported casualty and the cause of the fire and the estimated loss are still under investigation.