KUCHING: With the nearest fire and rescue (Bomba) station located about 100km away; the residents at the Bakun Resettlement Scheme Sungai Asap, Belaga are constantly worrying about ‘when is the next fire incident’.
Umie Liau, a resident of Uma Baha longhouse in the settlement said whenever there was a longhouse fire in the area; it would usually destroy the whole structure completely.
Apart from the distance, the poor road condition and hilly areas along the route are among the factors that contributed in making the journey more challenging.
She said it would take up to two hours, from Belaga Town to Sungai Asap Town, even during an emergency.
“Whenever there was a fire break out, the fire and rescue team would take about two hours to reach and it was always too late to save anything as most of the longhouses were constructed from wood; built more than 20 years ago.
“But, we don’t blame them, we know the main problem is the location or the distance to reach the scene,” she told New Sarawak Tribune.
Umie, who is the chairman of the Kenyah Uma Baha Women’s Association Sibu, has been urging the government to build a fire station with sufficient manpower at Sungai Asap Town, to accommodate the needs of the 15 longhouses in the settlement and its surrounding areas.
According to her, it was estimated there are 20,000 people living in the longhouses in the settlement, including school teachers as well as those working at the clinics, coffee shops and sundry shops nearby.
“I have highlighted this issue several times before, even to the media. I just don’t know why they can’t just build a fire station here,” she said after one block of her longhouse was destroyed in a blaze on Thursday, leaving some 100 people homeless.
She said it was lucky that the fire only affected Block F of Uma Baha longhouse, which consisted of 15 doors, and did not spread to other blocks of the longhouse.
Apart from the direction of the wind, she said, fast action of other longhouse folk as well as the volunteer fire-fighters had managed to control the flames from spreading further before the fire and rescue team arrived.
Umie said those who lost their homes in the fire which broke out around 2 pm on Jan 5, were currently seeking shelter at their relatives’ place.
Established in 1998, the settlement was to house the folk from 15 longhouses, comprising the Kayan, Kenyah, Kajang and Penan communities, who were relocated from the Balui River in the Upper Rajang to make way for the 2,400MW Bakun hydroelectric plant.
Over the years, longhouses had been destroyed by fire, leaving hundreds of homeless, including the 86-door Uma Sambop longhouse, which in July last year, affected 680 residents.
In 2019, some 100 residents from 30 families at two blocks of Uma Bawang had also lost their homes in a fire, while a massive fire had gutted Uma Bakong longhouse in 2018, leaving its 470 residents homeless.
Most of the time, Umie said, government and elected representatives would assist the fire victims to rebuild and repair their longhouse, however, it takes time.
Challenges in saving a longhouse fire
Longhouses did not fall under the Sarawak Building Ordinance, hence it was not mandatory for them to obtain a fire certificate or follow any building guidelines.
This means that the longhouses’ tuai rumah (village chiefs) and the community can decide on the size, structure and materials of the longhouses based on their needs and budget.
Sarawak Fire and Rescue Director Datuk Khirudin Drahman said saving a longhouse from a fire was indeed a challenging task, especially if it was deep in the interior.
In many cases, fire fighters and the fire engine could not reach a (longhouse fire) scene in time due to its remoteness.
Thus, the department has been organising various outreach programmes to educate and raise awareness on fire safety within longhouse communities, on what to do once there is a fire breaks out or before the fire fighters arrive.
Apart from that, Khirudin said the department also provided training and firefighting apparatus, which are crucial for the hard-to-reach areas.
Citing the fire that happened at Uma Baha longhouse, the first longhouse fire this year, he said, the department received an emergency call at 2.15 pm and immediately despatched the volunteer firefighters from Uma Daro Liling.
They reached the scene at 2.23 pm and successfully put out the fire at 3.30 pm, which had prevented the fire from spreading further, while the fire fighters from Belaga fire and rescue station arrived at 4 pm.
A total of 16 longhouse fires were recorded last year, involving 194 families. These cases were estimated to have suffered losses amounting to RM11 million.
