Swift action douses fire at palm oil mill’s acid pond in Tatau

BINTULU (Jan 28): A fire at a palm oil mill’s acid pond in Tatau was brought under control on yesterday afternoon, with no injuries reported.

The Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) said it received a call at 4.53pm regarding the fire at the mill located along Jalan SK Sungai Anak.

“The mill’s Emergency Response Team acted swiftly to extinguish the blaze before firefighters arrived at the scene.

“The fire was put out using 70 units of dry powder fire extinguishers, while hose lines were deployed from three nearby fire hydrants to prevent the fire from spreading,” it said in a statement.

Bomba said a team from the Tatau fire station was deployed to the mill, located about 40km away, to carry out monitoring and ensure the area was safe.

In a separate incident yesterday, Bomba personnel were deployed to Jalan Kidurong near the Bintulu Stadium following a report of a chemical spill.

Bintulu Bomba chief Wan Kamaruddin Wan Ahmad said the department received a distress call at 12.34pm on sludge breakers spilling from containers that fell off a trailer lorry.

“Firefighters wearing full personal protective equipment cordoned off the affected area by placing barricades to prevent public exposure.

“Cleanup operations were carried out using sand to absorb the spilled chemical,” he said in a statement.

Wan Kamaruddin confirmed no reports of injuries were received.