KUCHING, July 26: The fire at SK Batu Bungan in Mulu yesterday which claimed the life of 25-year-old teacher Catherine Janet Tiwi, may have been caused by a short circuit in the electrical wiring of a neighbouring house.
Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) state director Nor Hisham Mohammad said initial investigations revealed that the short circuit may have originated from bad wiring to the electrical socket connected to a television in the house, which might have caused a short circuit, which then ignited a fire in the living room.
“Initial investigations revealed that the fire was (likely) caused by a short circuit to the wirings of the electrical socket connected to the television in the living room of the house where the fire originated.
“This was further confirmed by the main witness which was the house owner. Investigators were told by the witness that a blackout happened prior to the fire,” he told reporters after Catherine’s remains arrived from Miri at the MASkargo complex near Kuching International Airport here earlier this evening.
Nor Hisham said the next phase of the investigation would be to find what had caused the short circuit to happen and the fire to spread fast causing total destruction.
Meanwhile, Nor Hisham also extended his condolences on behalf of Bomba Malaysia to Catherine’s family, especially her father Tiwi Nios who is a fireman at the Bau Bomba station.
He said Catherine’s death was not only a great loss to the family but also the Bomba fraternity as a whole.
“Catherine was very active in Bomba community activities and events including the Bomba cadet programme. Every time she came back to Bau, she never failed to drop by the Bau Bomba station.
“Just last week when she came, she treated the Bau Bomba firemen to a big lunch and pizza,” Nor Hisham told reporters. — DayakDaily
