RANAU: A former surau was destroyed in a fire incident Wednesday afternoon.
Ranau Fire and Rescue Station Chief, PPgB Rantey Fred said the incident occurred in Kg Minihas Lohan, Ranau at about 10 am.
“We received an emergency call from the public about the incident at 10.11 am and rushed a group of six firemen led by PBK Operations Commander I Mastin Suli to the location.
“Upon arriving at the scene of the incident, which is located 13 kilometres from the Ranau Fire Station, we found a fire involving a non-permanent former surau building measuring 30x30 square metres which was 96 per cent burnt.
“The extinguishing operation was carried out using a 200-foot stream, 2 ‘defensive’ jets using an open water source (a river 50 metres from the fire location),” he said.
According to Rantey, the cause of the fire and estimated losses are still under investigation, and fortunately no injuries or fatalities were reported as a result of the incident.
He added that inspections were carried out around the area to ensure that there were no other dangers and the operation was completely ended at around 12.10 pm.
He reiterated the call towards the public to be more cautious of fire incidents especially during dry and windy seasons.
“The public needs to prioritise safety first because fire in the open area could easily become uncontrollable and could turn disastrous with the risk of losing valuable assets, homes and even lives.
“If there is any open burning that cannot be avoided, it must be monitored and controlled, in order to prevent the spread of fire to nearby areas,” he said.
According to Rantey, for any Fire emergency or special services, the public can contact BOMBA RANAU at 24 hours (088-878779), hotline at 019-2449348 or dial 999.
He said, every fire and rescue personnel in the district is on standby and ready to act upon any fire incident.
