The fire on Monday night left 180 longhouse folk homeless.
MIRI (April 6): Rumah Jeff Achum at Bukit Limau in Lapok, Baram was just weeks away from getting round-the-clock electricity supply when a faulty generator is believed to have caused the fire that razed most of the bilik to the ground on Monday night.
The fire left 180 residents homeless when it destroyed 19 of the longhouse’s 24 doors.
Assistant Minister of Local Government and Marudi assemblyman Datu Dr Penguang Manggil said wiring at the longhouse was fully completed and merely awaiting connection to the state’s electricity grid after Sesco’s technical staff made their final inspections last week.
“I was told that it was caused by a faulty generator set, which caused the fire, and it saddens me as they were really looking forward to electricity supply to celebrate this coming Gawai Dayak,” he told The Borneo Post.
Penguang, who is attending a meeting on the longhouse construction loans scheme today, said he would seek top priority for Rumah Jeff Achum folk to apply for loans of up to RM70,000 by submitting the report from the Fire and Rescue Department.
He will also work with the logging company operating in the region to help the fire victims under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme while he would contribute immediate food and cash aid through the Progressive Democratic Party’s (PDP) machinery to complement assistance from the Welfare Department.
PDP Marudi Youth would also assist with a donation drive to provide clothing and other immediate relief.
According to the longhouse chief, the fire victims are temporarily putting up at their farmhouses instead of the designated disaster relief centre in Lapok.
Penguang supported the decision, saying it was a wiser and more prudent move due to the threat of Covid-19 infections in Beluru district, which the Ministry of Health has classified as an orange zone.
“It is vital that everyone is mindful at all times to observe the SOPs (standard operating procedures) to prevent the spread of Covid-19 cases, where seven were reported yesterday,” he said.
For more on this story read: https://www.theborneopost.com/2021/04/06/180-made-homeless-after-fire-destroys-tr-jeff-achum-longhouse-in-lapok/