What we know about the Tambun house fire that killed three
Raja Ahmad Raja Ali, 70, his wife Zaitun Mohamed, 64 and their 18-year-old grandson, Nik Abdurrahman Azimin Harith Helal, died when the blaze tore through their two-storey terrace house.
IPOH - The metal grilles fitted to keep a family safe were the very thing that trapped an elderly couple and their teenage grandson when fire swept through their home in the early hours of Sep 20, killing them in Persiaran Desa Tambun 4, Taman Desa Tambun, here.
Raja Ahmad Raja Ali, 70, his wife Zaitun Mohamed, 64, and their 18-year-old grandson, Nik Abdurrahman Azimin Harith Helal, died when the blaze tore through their two-storey terrace house.
Raja Ikhwan Hadi, the eldest of five siblings said he was asleep near the parking area of his house when he heard his nephew shouting for help, followed by the sound of breaking glass at about 4am.
He tried to get into the house but the fire was already raging and the smoke too thick to get through.
His younger brother, Raja Muhammad Shukri, 30, came closer than anyone. He managed to grab hold of their mother's hand through the balcony and tried to pull her to safety, but the metal grilles fitted across the opening would not give way and he could not get her out.
"I called for help from the neighbours, who contacted the Fire and Rescue Department and tried to save those inside the house, but they were unsuccessful," Raja Ikhwan Hadi told reporters at the scene on Sunday.
He said his mother had told him hours before the fire that she had an uneasy feeling, as though something was about to happen. He managed to move a motorcycle out of the parking area, but there was no time to save anything else.
How the fire unfolded
Perak Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director Datuk Sayani Saidon said the department received a call at 4am and dispatched teams from the Tambun and Ipoh stations.
On arrival, they found a Class A two-storey terrace house on fire, with about 70 per cent of the structure affected.
Raja Ahmad's body was found in the ground-floor bathroom. The other two victims were found upstairs, one in the bathroom and the other in a bedroom near a window. The fire was extinguished by about 6am and the operation ended at 8am.
Six people lived in the house, but only four were home when the fire broke out.
What the post-mortems found
Post-mortems completed at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun's Forensic Department found that two of the victims died of fire-related injuries, while the third died of smoke inhalation.
Ipoh district police chief ACP Muhammad Najib Hamzah said the cause of the fire remained under investigation.
"The public is advised not to make any speculation or disseminate unverified information and to respect the sensitivity of the victims' families," he said in a statement.
A family laid to rest together
More than five hundred people performed the funeral prayer for the three victims at Masjid Jamek Al Amin in Tambun. A light drizzle fell as about three hundred family members, relatives and friends accompanied them on their final journey to the Tambun Islamic Cemetery, where they were buried together in the same grave at about 8.25pm, hours after the post-mortems were completed.
The grandson's father, Helal Zamri, 37, said he had seen his son and the grandparents just days before the fire.
"The last time I saw my son and his grandparents was earlier this week and they were their usual selves, with no sign that anything was amiss," he said.
His son had lived with his grandparents since childhood and worked alongside him in the family catering business.
Aid pledged for the family
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim contributed RM5,000 in initial assistance to the family, delivered at the scene by Tambun Member of Parliament's special officer Mohamad Hairul Amir Sabri to Raja Ikhwan Hadi.
Hairul said officials from the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister's Department would visit the following day to assess the house for repairs and that the service centre was prepared to help with temporary accommodation.
"Looking at the condition of the house, the repair process may take quite some time. So, the service centre may help provide temporary accommodation for them until the repairs are completed," he said.
He added that the centre would work with the Social Welfare Department and other agencies to identify suitable support, including possible counselling, and would also assist with the burial arrangements.
The Prime Minister had conveyed his condolences to the family.
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