Two religious learning centres catch fire

IPOH: Two religious learning centres in Perak caught fire in Perak last night but no casualties were reported in both incidents.

In Teluk Intan, the excitement of a group of female students sharing their experience of spending Hari Raya back in their hometowns turned into panic when the storeroom of their ground floor dormitory at Sekolah Menengah Agama Maahad Al-Islah, Sungai Lampam here was almost razed to the ground by fire.

School principal Agus Lokman Sulam said he was grateful that all the 68 school boarders did not sustain any injuries in the 11.30 pm incident

“The girls dormitory houses 85 people but only 68 had returned up till tonight and all the students and their belongings were safe because their dormitory rooms are located on the second and third floors,” he said when met on Sunday.

Meanwhile Teluk Intan Fire and Rescue Department chief Zulkafli Abdullah said fire engines from the Teluk Intan and Hutan Melintang stations, which rushed to the scene, took 15 minutes to control the fire.

He said the cause and estimated losses incurred were still being ascertained.

In Pengkalan Hulu, about 200 kilometres from here, 18 dormitory rooms of the Addiniah al-Latifiah Religious School better known as Pondok Pak Teh in Kampung Kuak Luar caught fire at 11 pm.

A spokesman of the Perak Fire and Rescue Department said a distress call was received at about 11.27 pm and two fire engines from the fire stations in Pengkalan Hulu and Baling, Kedah were rushed to the scene and the fire was doused at about 1.30 with assistance of the police and Tenaga Nasional Berhad.

“All 66 students who were at their dormitory at the back of the school were unhurt,’ he said in a statement yesterday. - Bernama