KUCHING: A total of 43 people from 11 families were made homeless when fire razed four houses in two separate incidents today.
In the first incident, a double-storey house at Kampung Semerah Padi here was destroyed, leaving 35 tenants from 10 families with nothing except the clothes on their backs.
Fortunately, no one was injured in the around 5 pm fire as the tenants managed to scramble to safety.
A spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) said firemen from Tabuan Jaya and Batu Lintang stations were despatched to the scene after his department received an emergency call at 5.15pm.
By the time the firefighters arrived the blaze was at its height. The firemen managed to put out the flames and complete their operation by 9.45pm.
The cause of the fire and losses incurred are still under investigation.
In another incident, eight individuals lost their homes after three houses in Kampung Hulu Sessang, Kabong in Saratok, caught fire.
No injuries or casualties were reported in the 5.30pm incident.
A spokesman for Bomba said firemen from the Saratok station were deployed to the scene as soon as they received a distress call.
Upon arriving, the firemen found two houses razed to the ground while another house was damaged.
The flames were brought under control at 6.20pm and the whole operation ended around 8pm.
The first house was inhabited by a family of seven while, only one person stayed in the second house. The third house was unoccupied because the owner is understood to be residing in the state capital.
Losses incurred and the cause of the fire are yet to be ascertained.
