20151009 Malaysia Chow Kit Fire- Trader, 70, Loses Source Of Income
Malaysia Oct 09 2015 “Stores”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Chow Kit Fire: Trader, 70, Loses Source Of Income
Updated: 2015-10-09 12:00
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 (Bernama) — For almost eight hours, she sat stunned at the door of her shop, surrounded by burnt flowers, blackened pots, and furniture which had been scorched by fire.
The flower shop she operated for 10 years at the Old Chow Kit market here was among 40 shop units destroyed in a fire late last night.
Thirty minutes after the fire started, as soon as she was told about the fire by a friend, Lim Yok Poh, 70, rushed to the shop.
Lim, who lived alone, said the shop was her only source of income after she stopped working in a supermarket.
“I am sad, because here I had my regular customers, but what can I do, except be patient,” she said, while trying her best to muster up a smile.
Lim estimated that her losses amounted to about RM10,000 and she has to temporarily stop her business while her shop underwent repairs.
The fire at the 60-year-old Old Chow Kit market began at about 12.20 am and some of the destroyed units were stores for the traders.
The Fire and Rescue Department has started a forensic investigation to determine the cause of the fire.
Meanwhile, operations at the market which comprised about 500 business sites, some of which had been renovated from wood into cement, had returned to normal.
Another victim, trader and store owner Kamaruzaman Md Yunos, 43, said he only found out about the fire after he was informed by a friend.
“I saw the fire burning, and my store for keeping dried goods was totally burnt and could not be saved.
“Just two days ago, I kept dried goods such as anchovies and dried squid in the store and did not expect this to happen,” he said.
Kamaruzaman, who had been trading in the area for 15 years, estimated that his total loss amounted to more than RM20,000.
Executive director of DBKL’s Socio-economic Department Datuk Normah Malik, when met at the scene, said vacant business sites would be allocated to the fire victims in the near future.
Web Source: Bernama
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