SIBU: The heroic act of an odd-job worker who risked his life to save two children from a fire that destroyed four wooden houses on Sept 10 is not forgotten.
The hero, Guba Nuli, 48, was presented a token of appreciation by Lanang MP Alice Lau at her service centre yesterday.
In the fire, 17 people from four families were left with only the clothes on their backs after their houses in Jalan Amoi were razed to the ground.
The two children, seven-year-old Nur Qhasseh Larrisha Laura Azuan and Nur Arisha Alysha Abdullah, just a year older, were at home asleep when the fire broke out.
Both students of SK St Rita, the siblings were not in school because of the UPSR examination, said headmistress Veronica Su.
At the time of the fire, the children’s parents were out at work. The father is a storekeeper while the mother works in a bird nest processing factory.
Su said Guba happened to know of the presence of the two siblings in the burning house, rushed in, grabbed them and ran out to safety.
After that, Guba waited for their mother to come back before handing them to her.
State Fire and Rescue Department acting deputy director Tiong Ling Hii said 21 firemen who arrived at the scene 10 minutes after receiving a distress call, could not do much as the raging fire was already at its height.
“We received a distress call at 8.33am and rushed 21 firemen in two engines to the scene. When they arrived, the fire had already destroyed 90% of the houses,” he explained.
He said the most they could do was to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjacent houses.
The fire was brought under control at 9.08am.
“We are still investigating the cause of the fire and determining the total loss,” he added.
