12 families unscathed as fire guts rental housing block, damages another in Bintulu

BINTULU (Nov 20): An early-morning fire today reduced a double-storey block at Jalan Sibiyu here to ashes and badly damaged an adjacent single-storey structure.

No injuries were reported among the 12 families renting at the two blocks, said the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Bintulu chief Wan Kamaruddin Wan Ahmad.

“We received notification of the incident at 1.38am and rushed a team of 13 from the Bintulu fire station to the scene.

“Upon arrival, firefighters discovered the 20-unit two-storey block completely engulfed in flames, and a nearby single-storey block partially engulfed,” he said in a statement.

Damage to the single-storey building was estimated at 60 per cent, he added.

Wan Kamaruddin said the 12 affected families comprised about 60 members.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, and losses have yet to be ascertained.