Car catches fire at historical Jalan Ewe Hai, flames spread to four shophouses
KUCHING: A parked vehicle suddenly caught fire at Jalan Ewe Hai in Kuching’s old town at 1.40pm yesterday.
Jalan Ewe Hai is connected to Jalan Carpenter in the old quarters of the city.
According to eyewitnesses, the presence of flammable materials accompanied by strong winds in the area caused the fire to spread quickly to the adjacent shophouse.
Within moments, the fire struck at least four double-storey shophouses.
At the scene were firefighters from the Padungan, Tabuan
Jaya, and Batu Lintang stations.
Firefighters controlled the blaze and continued to conduct an overhaul to fully extinguish any remaining flames.
According to Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), two shophouses that were selling furniture were destroyed in the incident.
The third and fourth unit of the affected shophouses, were 50 per cent damaged, while the fi h unit was 30 per cent damaged.
Bomba also revealed that a motorcycle, which was parked along the five-foot way, was also destroyed by the fire.
No injuries were reported from the incident.
Investigations are on-going to determine the level of damage and the exact cause of the fire.
When met yesterday, Kuching North Datuk Bandar Hilmy Othman called upon Bomba Sarawak to help with the inspection of the electrical wiring system in old buildings and premises, especially those of historical significance.
He also said the department should work out a collaborative safety first programme involving owners and tenants of the premises.
“Considering many festivals would be held here (Carpenter Street) and the buildings are of historical significance, we are obliged to make sure that all subscribe to safety first,” he said.
Saddened that four of the old shophouses were severely damaged, Hilmy said there was a fire incident that struck the same street in 2022, but yesterday’s was ‘a major one’.
In his remarks, Kuching South Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng called upon everyone to not speculate on the causes of the fire.
“Let the Bomba and police do their investigation,” he said, also stressing about the maintenance and inspection of the electrical wiring system in premises along Carpenter Street.
“This is because most of the buildings are very old, and so would their electrical wiring system – either they are old or outdated,” said Wee, who spent much of his childhood at Jalan India. In my younger days, I used to walk through Carpenter Street to get to Chung Hua primary school. Every single step we made when we walked through, it’s memorable. We have good memories of Carpenter Street,” he added.
Sarawak Housing Estate Developers Association (Sheda) Kuching chairman Datuk Sim Kiang Chiok, in a statement, said he was shocked and saddened by the news of the incident.
“I am indeed saddened and shocked to be informed about the fire that ravaged five or more shops at Ewe Hai Street, which are only 200 feet away on the opposite side from my own shop,” he said, adding that his family had been operating the shop since the late 1960s.
He said two of the shops had some renovation done to them, with their original timber floors and beams, while the other three shops had been fully renovated.
Nonetheless, he thanked the efficient firefighters for quickly extinguishing and containing the fire from spreading further.
“It could have been worse if the fire had broken out during the night, and the Bomba had been alerted late,” he said.
Sim also hoped that the affected shop houses were insured so that repairs could be carried out to restore these approximately 130year-old buildings, located in one of Kuching’s historical sites.