136 left homeless after fire razes 21-door Bekenu longhouse, contained after 7-hour ops

The fire that destroyed a longhouse in Bekenu on May 29, 2026. Photo: Bomba

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, May 29: A 21-door longhouse in Bekenu was destroyed in a fire today, leaving 136 residents homeless.

In a report from the Fire and Rescue Department, a call was received at 1.17am today, and firefighters from the Batu Niah station were deployed with assistance from the Miri Central station to Rumah Nelson Ningkan, Jalan Sungai Saeh, Kampung Labau Bekenu.

It was noted that the fire involved a longhouse with 21 doors of a non-permanent structure, measuring 16×100 square feet per house, which was destroyed.

Firefighters from the Miri Central extinguished the fire using two streams, one 300-foot stream and another 800-foot stream to extinguish the front of the longhouse.

Meanwhile, firefighters from the Batu Niah station extinguished the fire with two streams, one 600-foot stream and another 800-foot stream to extinguish the back and sides of the longhouse.

The operation ended seven hours later at 8.18am. No injuries or deaths were reported in the incident. — DayakDaily