20160122 Malaysia Man Dies In Attempt To Save Baby From Fire In Teluk Kumbar
Malaysia Jan 22 2016 “Houses”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 1 to 9
Man Dies In Attempt To Save Baby From Fire In Teluk Kumbar
Updated: 2016-01-22 12:00
BALIK PULAU, Jan 22 (Bernama) — A man and his three-month-old daughter died in a fire which razed two houses in Kampung Nelayan, Teluk Kumbar near here early Friday morning.
Barat Daya district police chief Supt Lai Fah Hin said in the 2.15am incident, Nazri Zainal Abidin, 29, who had managed to run out to safety, dashed back into the burning house to save his only child, Damia Auliah Salsabila.
“The victim, a trader, however, was not so lucky the second time as he and his daughter were overcome by the blazing fire at the two-storey wooden house.
“The house was occupied by the man, his wife and daughter, his mother-in-law as well as three nephews. Five of them were saved,” he told reporters.
He said the victim’s wife, in her 20s, sustained burns on her arm when running out of the house.
Lai said the body of the victim was found at the front door at about 3am after the fire was brought under control while his daughter’s body was found in a baby cot upstairs.
He said the charred remains of both victims were sent to the Balik Pulau Hospital for post-mortem while the victim’s wife was also treated at the hospital.
Balik Pulau Fire and Rescue operations head Norashikin Md Isa said the department received an emergency call at 2.17 am and the first fire engine arrived at the location 20 minutes later.
“When the fire brigade arrived, the fire had spread but we succeeded in preventing the flames from spreading to other houses before bringing it under control at 3am,” she said.
She said 50 firemen and two fire engines as well as six voluntary firemen were involved in fighting the fire and the cause was still under investigation.
Meanwhile, the victim’s mother-in-law Che Gayah Mat Rawi, 76, said she was alerted of the fire by shouts and loud noise outside the house.
“I got up and woke up my three grandchildren sleeping on the ground floor before running to safety,” she said.
She said moments later, her daughter and son-in-law who were sleeping on the first floor also managed to get out of the burning house before he entered the house again after realising his daughter had been left behind.
“The fire was already raging dangerously when Nazri went into the house to save his daughter and we felt very uneasy then.
My daughter also tried to enter the house but was held back by firemen as it was too dangerous. I was very sad when firemen brought the bodies of my son-in-law and granddaughter,” she said.
Meanwhile, Balik Pulau MP Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said RM100,000 would be allocated for rewiring work on wooden houses in the constituency.
The Deputy Health Minister said priority would be given to houses that are more than 40 years old and that the work would be done in collaboration with Pusat Giat Mara dan Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara (IKBN).
“I will discuss with the Village Development and Security Committees in the constituency to identify the houses where the rewiring should be done first,” he told reporters after visiting the scene of the incident.
Nazri’s wife Roshina Abdul Latif, 24, who could hardly hold back her tears, said the deaths of her husband and child were fated and it was a test from Allah for her.
“My husband was a good man and each time after finishing the Maghrib prayers, he would cradle our daughter while reciting verses from the Quran or Surah Yassin,” she said.
The remains of the father and his daughter were buried at the Maqbul Teluk Kumbar Mosque cemetery after the Friday prayers.
Web Source: Bernama
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/newsindex.php?id=1209447