Some of the cars that were damaged as a result of the fire.
Firefighters work together to put out the fire.
SIBU: A fire that struck a car workshop at Lanang Road in Lane 9 early yesterday has rendered seven families homeless, while a 72-year-old man was rescued in time from the first floor of the building.
The workshop incurred heavy losses in the 5am blaze, with two cars inside the premises and eight left outside destroyed. A few other vehicles parked near the site were also damaged due to the scorching heat and smoke.
Police, firefighters and members of the Civil Defence Force rushed to the scene and managed to put the fire under control not long after daybreak.
Sibu police chief ACP Saiful Bahri confirmed that his men were investigating the cause of the fire, adding that they could not ascertain if this was a case of arson.
Moreover, the firefighters came just in time to save a 72-year-old man who was still inside the burning building. The man had a walking difficulty and the rescuers managed to carry him out of harm. He was staying on the first floor next to the corner-lot workshop, with his relatives – a family of four – on the second floor.
No casualties were reported, but the 20 people who were renting the units on the upper floors of the shoplot suffered heavy losses as they could virtually save nothing. Police have recorded their particulars.
For a widow among the 20, she was hit by the second tragedy in six months – the first was the death of her husband, leaving her to care for their three schoolgoing children, aged 10 to 17, on her own.
Siri Paran from Dalit began working at the coffee shop in Lanang Road after her husband’s death to support her family. She just got back from work at 4am and was in the bathroom when her children shouted for her to run when their unit caught fire.
The 37-year-old ran out clad only in sarong, grabbing her purse and mobile phone along the way while her children ran out with only schoolbags on their bags.
These are the only belongings that they have now – everything else went up in smoke.
Suri, clad in T-shirt and jeans courtesy of her neighbour, was in tears when talking to the reporters.
The other survivors are all rural folk working in town, renting the units on the upper floors.
According to the workshop owner, his family had been running the business there for nearly four decades. He took over the shop from his father in 2000.
He could not ascertain his losses in the fire, but claimed that it was ‘heavy’.