Firefighters stop scrubland fire spreading to Kuala Baram fish market

MIRI (April 2): The Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) managed to prevent a scrubland fire from spreading to the near Batu Satu Fish Market in Kuala Baram on Wednesday afternoon.

Lutong fire station chief Henry Jugah said an emergency call on the incident was received at 2.29pm.

A team of seven firefighters in one fire engine arrived at the scene around 4km away four minutes later.

Operations commander senior fire officer II Mohd Faizul Ali reported that the fire broke out in scrubland near the coastline and the seafood trading area.

“Firefighting operations began with a single hose line stretching 300 feet with one water nozzle from the engine to prevent the fire from spreading further,” Henry said in a statement.

He said the blaze, which affected 1.61ha of scrubland, was successfully brought under control by 4.06pm, with operations concluding fully at 5.09pm.

Police, Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), and Natural Resources and Environment Board personnel were also involved.

Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin, who was present at the scene, had called on DID to assist firefighting efforts by deploying an excavator to expedite the containment of the blaze in the area.

Henry added firefighting operations would resume on Thursday should any remnants of the fire persist — a precaution that underscores the dry conditions continuing to pose a risk across drought-affected parts of the Miri region.