Eight houses at Pulau Gaya’s water village destroyed in fire

KOTA KINABALU - Eight houses in a water village were destroyed by a fire in an incident at Kampung Lok Urai, Pulau Gaya, here on Tuesday.

The incident happened at about 11pm and no casualties were recorded as all members of the household had successfully saved themselves in the fire.

Kota Kinabalu Fire and Rescue Department chief Ordine Gilu said they received a distress call on the incident at 11.06pm.

He said eight personnel and operational officers rushed to the scene seven kilometres away by boat while 15 Voluntary Fire Brigades (PBS) were on site to extinguish the fires.

"The fire involved eight houses on the water with six being fully burnt down while the other two were 50 per cent razed.

"The extinguishing activities were made by Pulau Gaya PBS using a hose and a water source from a water supply ship," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said the firemen were able to gain information and performed a safety check in the area to ensure there are no other dangerous items.

"The operations was under controlled by midnight and ended 40 minutes later.

"Investigations found no victims were involved," he said.

Meanwhile, according to Sabah State Disaster Management Committee reports, the total number of victims affected was being updated, but they had identified seven affected families so far.

"For now, there are no temporary shelters opened because all victims are staying with their relatives nearby," he said.