Labuan - 800 homes destroyed in blaze

LABUAN: More than 3,000 people were made homeless when a fire broke out at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) commune of Kampung Muslim yesterday.

The fire, which started at 11.30am, ravaged almost 800 homes and sent families and children into temporary shelters at the Community Hall of the Labuan Corporation.

It is the second time that the UNHCR commune, which is being occupied by locals and Filipinos who are holding the IMM13 document or working pass, had been razed since 1996.

The Fire and Rescue Department received a distress call at 11.40 am and only managed to put out the blaze about 2 pm. State Fire and Rescue Operations Officer Hasnah Rashid said 130 firefighters from three stations and three engines were involved in bringing the blaze under control.

"Almost 80 per cent of the houses there were completely destroyed. There was no report of casualties in the massive fire," he said.
A 35-year-old villager, Abidin Julahi, told Bernama that he was with his family when the fire broke out.

"It was 11.30am, when I heard a loud scream outside my house, and when I looked up, the fire had spread close to my house.

"There was nothing I could do except to save our belongings and children and run to safer ground. We estimate almost 800 houses in four blocks were already burnt down by then," Abidin said.

Another victim, Aminah, 65, said she was grateful to God for saving her and her family. "It does not matter that our belongings were lost in the fire. I am just grateful my family is safe," she said.

Meanwhile, Labuan member of parliament Datuk Yussof Mahal urged government department and agencies to render assistance to the fire victims.

"This is on humanitarian grounds. We hope the community would come forward to contribute generously. At this moment, my parliamentary officers are assisting them and gathering all the necessary information.

"We need to get a list of the victims who require immediate assistance. I'll be returning to Labuan today and had to postpone my thesis discussion with a UTM professor," said Yussof, who is currently in University Teknologi Malaysia in Skudai, Johor for his Master's degree. -- Bernama

Source: NST