Long old house in Simunjan burned down

A long, unoccupied house in Tegellam village was destroyed in a fire last evening.

Simunjan Bombing and Rescue Squad (BBP) received a call regarding the incident at 2.57 pm before arriving on location about 14 minutes later.

According to a statement from the Centre for Operational Movements (PGO) of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Sarawak, the fire involved a non-permanent type long house measuring about 80 metres long and 30 metres wide.

"The entire structure of the long house burned and is estimated to have been 100 percent destroyed.

"According to the information of Chief of Kampung Tegelam, the long house is an old long house that is no longer inhabited. The fire is believed to have started in the central part before spreading to both ends of the structure", according to the statement.

For the extinguishing operation, the bomb squad used a transportation pump unit with an open water source from nearby rivers.

A total of two 300-foot channels along with two nozzles were used to ensure the fire could be completely extinguished.

After the fire is extinguished, firefighters conduct inspections and monitoring to ensure that there are no more sources of fire or coal that could cause a recurrence.

The operation was controlled at 5:04 p.m. and fully terminated at 7:10 p.m. after the final inspection found safety.

Nine members of BBP Simunjan along with an FRT engine and a Hilux vehicle were involved in the operation.

The operation was also assisted by two members of the Regional Office, two police officers and four Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) officers.

No casualties were reported in the incident.