20160213 Brunei Fire destroys house in Kuala Belait
Brunei Feb 13 2016 “Houses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Fire destroys house in Kuala Belait
Updated: 2016-02-13
Photo shows the burnt down house in Jalan Sultan Sulaiman in Kuala Belait.
ONE house was destroyed and another one badly affected in a fire that broke out yesterday morning in Kuala Belait.
The fire erupted at a 12-bedroom house on Jalan Sultan Sulaiman and spread to a nearby house, damaging three rooms on the top floor and water connection on the ground floor.
No one was injured in the incident which went viral on WhatsApp social application.
The Fire and Rescue Department Operation ‘B’ Belait Branch which received a distress call at 8.08am, immediately dispatched a 10-member team with three fire fighting vehicles to the scene led by Assistant Superintendent Zulkeflee bin Alimas from the Kuala Belait Fire Station.
By the time the team arrived the fire had almost completely destroyed the first house.
They managed to douse the flames in five minutes before turning attention to the neighbouring house.
Zulkeflee told the media that the cause of the fire and the amount of damages are yet to be ascertained. “The situation may have been better if the additions made to the house were within the limitations set by the government,” he said.
One of the 12 tenants of the gutted house, Augenia Campos, a Philippines national, told the Weekend Bulletin she started her day as usual and when she was about to leave the house 10 minutes before 8am, she sensed something was wrong.
“I could smell smoke and it became more intense as I was walking downstairs, and when I finally reached the ground floor, I saw fire coming from the refrigerator,” she said.
She added that the fire quickly spread to other flammable items and the only thing that she could think of was to alert the other two Filipino tenants who were inside the house.
After evacuating, they also alerted neighbours, especially the family of Tan Eng Seng living next to the burning house.
Another tenant, Tan Kheng Huat, said after receiving the alert he immediately evacuated all the eight family members from the house.
“I then moved the vehicles away from the fire and then tried to rescue as many things as I could.”
Haji Marusin bin Damit, the owner of the destroyed house said, “I was sleeping at my daughter’s house when I received a call at around 8 in the morning so I rushed to the scene with my son.”
When they arrived, he said that eight of the tenants had already left for work leaving those who usually leave later for their 8am day job.
“I opened the house for rent 40 years ago and I stayed there for the first 20 years before moving to my daughter’s house in Kg Mumong,” said Haji Marusin, adding that the house was more than 60 years old.
Web Source: Borneo Bulletin
http://borneobulletin.com.bn/fire-destroys-house-in-kuala-belait/