KUCHING: It will be a gloomy Hari Gawai celebration this Sunday for 46 residents from 14 families of a longhouse in Kampung Long Bangan Apoh, Baram, after their house was destroyed in a fire yesterday.
The fire broke out at 5am, but the fire and rescue department only received information about the incident at 9am.
To make matters worse, the nearest fire station is located 248 km from the location of the fire.
Marudi Fire and Rescue Station chief Maureen Sim Ah Lian, together with three members and two fire investigation officers headed to the location to identify the validity of the information received.
They traveled more than six hours to reach the scene.
The journey was made more difficult when the red dirt road was slippery due to rain, while when passing through dry places the group faced limited visibility from dusty roads.
Communication was also difficult because there was no telecommunication coverage at the scene of the incident.
"Firefighters arrived at the location at 3.04pm. The fire involved 14 residential units while a Toyota Hilux pickup and a Honda Wave motorcycle were also destroyed," she said.
Lim said all 46 victims including a paralysed adult man, a disabled adult woman and 12 children were unhurt.
"In total, the village has 102 residential units and the residents took quick action to prevent the fire from spreading," she said.
Further investigations are being carried out to identify the cause of the incident and assess the estimated losses suffered by the residents.