Fire breaks out at mall, no one hurt
KUCHING: A fire broke out at a shopping mall along Jalan P Ramlee yesterday morning, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky
Traffic came to a standstill in nearby areas as members of the public were seen starring into the sky when black smoke rose from the top floor of the four-storey builing as firefighters tried to bring the blaze under control.
State Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) assistant operations director Tiong Ling Hii said the fire was believed to have started from the fourth floor of the building damaging 80 per cent of the office space.
He said after the department received a distress call at 6.42am, it despatched Bomba personnel from three firestations namely Padungan, Batu Lintang and Petra Jaya to the location.
The fire was put out at 7.51am despite the firefighters having difficulties with one of its fire extinguisher systems.
“No injuries or casualties were reported during the incident and fire investigation officers have yet to ascertain the actual cause of the fire,” said Tiong when met at the scene.
In a separate incident, a sedan car was engulfed in fire after it crashed into the rear of a lorry parked near a commercial unit along Jalan Stephen Yong in the wee hours yesterday.
It is understood that in the 3.39am incident, the female driver was pulled out of the vehicle by members of the public who were in the vicinity of the crash site.
According to them, they heard a loud sound and saw smoke after the collision and contacted Bomba for assistance.
Firefighters upon their arrival at the scene immediately worked to put out the flame with the operation ending at 4.26am.
The car was totally damaged in the incident.
No injuries or casualties were reported during the incident and fire investigation officers have yet to ascertain the actual cause of the fire. — Tiong Ling Hii, State Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) assistant operations director