By DayakDaily Team
SIBU, July 25: A homeowner was left devastated after all 10 of his pet cats perished in a fire that razed five houses and damaged two others in Kampung Hilir this morning.
“We didn’t have time to save anything… not even my cats,” 33-year-old Luqman Daut, who lost his home and beloved pets in the blaze told TVS when met at the scene today.
Luqman recounted that he was only made aware of the fire after being awakened by his wife around 7.30am, by which time the flames had already spread from the back of the house.
“At first, I thought she was joking, but when I opened the back door, the fire had already entered through the window and immediately spread. I had six adult cats and four newborn kittens, all of them died. There was nothing I could do,” he said.
His house was the third unit in a row of homes that caught fire, believed to have originated from a house near the riverbank before spreading rapidly.
“The fire had already reached the kitchen when I got up. There really wasn’t time to save anything,” he added.
Luqman lived in the house with his wife, sister, and brother-in-law, while his parents, who reside in Tanjung Manis, were on their way to Sibu after being informed of the incident.
The fire destroyed at least five non-permanent houses and damaged two more before it was fully brought under control by the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) at 9.40am.
An elderly man with a disability (OKU) was also affected and was rushed to hospital by the Civil Defence Force (APM) after reportedly jumping into the river to escape the flames.
A total of 66 residents from several families were displaced in the fire incident. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the authorities. — DayakDaily
