SHAH ALAM: The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), Selangor, today dispatched two dogs from its K9 unit to assist in the forensic investigation of the fire which razed Wisma Jakel, here in Section 7.
The two dogs named Rusty and Sam, entered the scene of the incident at 10am after smoulders ceased to be detected in the building.
Selangor JBPM Investigation Division Assistant Director Norizham Mohd Nurdin said the presence of the K9 unit was a normal procedure in investigating fire cases.
"The dogs we are moving today are not the dogs that were used in the landslide incident in Batang Kali, Hulu Selangor, last December.
"They (dogs) have different specialities and the K9s deployed today are trained for fire investigation, with two dogs deployed for each investigation.
"These dogs will help in detecting the cause (of the fire) and one of them will confirm (when it finds the cause)," he said when met by reporters at the scene of the incident today.
He said the fire department will conduct its investigation based on the structure of the building, witnesses, and videos uploaded by the public on social media.
He said the emergency caller's testimony also helped the department as the individual concerned was among those who saw the initial position of the fire when it took place.
"If you follow the building, it is really big and we will not investigate the whole building but instead we will investigate the location where the fire started.
"The two dogs investigated and focused on the first floor where the fire is believed to have started," he said.
On allegations that the fire was caused by a short circuit, Norizham said the cause would only be known after laboratory tests were carried out once the investigation process at the scene of the incident was completed.
In the meantime, 50 personnel from the Shah Alam and the Kota Anggerik Fire and Rescue Station as well as the Selangor JBPM Headquarters are on duty at the fire site today.
The leading textile store caught fire at about 7am yesterday.
Following the fire, the Jakel Group estimated that it sustained RM100 million loss. However that amount only involved the value of the building, while the actual amount has yet to be ascertained.