The unoccupied Rumah Changgai longhouse located near Simpang Batu Niah in Ulu Niah here was destroyed in a fire on Friday night.
MIRI (Aug 1): An old longhouse, Rumah Changgai, near Simpang Batu Niah in Ulu Niah here was destroyed in a fire on Friday night.
The longhouse, measuring approximately 200 by 600 square feet, was built in 1971 and had been unoccupied since 2023.
According to the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Operations Control Centre (PGO), an emergency call was received at about 6.24pm.
A team of firefighters from the Batu Niah Fire Station was immediately deployed to the scene, about 33km away. Due to the severity of the fire, a team from the Lopeng Fire Station was also dispatched to assist in the firefighting operation.
Upon arriving at the scene about 31 minutes later, firefighters found that the 76-door longhouse was already heavily engulfed in flames, with 62 units on fire.
The team immediately deployed a 700-foot hose line with two nozzles, drawing water from nearby drains, to extinguish the fire from the front and left side of the longhouse.
“Additionally, one 800-foot hose line with two nozzles supplied from a fire engine pump was used to combat the fire from the rear of the longhouse, while another 800-foot hose line with two nozzles from the Lopeng Fire Station received water through a relay pumping system,” said the operation commander in a report.
The fire completely destroyed the structure. No injuries were reported.
The blaze was brought under control at about 8.15pm.
After ensuring the fire was fully extinguished and overhaul operations were completed, firefighters ended the operation and returned to their respective stations at about 12.39am.
A 19-person team of fire fighters were deployed to extinguish fire.