Firefighters working frantically to control the blaze which destroyed 18 wooden houses at Kampung Cenderamata 2 in Kampung Likas.
A man could only watch in disbelief as his house was among the 18 destroyed in the fire.
KOTA KINABALU: A five-year-old boy was burned to death in Tenom while 18 families were made homeless in a fire at Kampung Likas here during the Chinese New Year holiday celebration.
The charred remains of Mohd Imel Abdullah was found inside his family’s house at Kampung Mensasou in Tenom by firefighters at 12.18pm on February 1.
Fire and Rescue Services Department public relations officer Senior Assistant Superintendent Mohd Affendy Ramin said the department received a distress call at 11.47am and a fire engine from the Tenom fire and rescue station rushed to the scene within minutes.
Affendy said firefighters found the victim’s body as they were carrying out investigation at the scene.
“We immediately informed the police of the discovery and the victim’s body was taken to hospital for a post-mortem,” he said, adding that the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
Meanwhile, in the state capital, 18 families were made homeless when a fire destroyed their houses at Kampung Cenderamata 2 in Kampung Likas on January 30.
The 11.50am incident destroyed 18 houses, mostly wooden ones, as the fire spread quickly.
Fire and Rescue Assistant Fire chief I Hamsa Isnurdini, when met at the scene, said the department received a distress call at 12pm and immediately deployed four fire trucks and three utility vehicles with seven officers and 32 personnel to the scene.
“The fire spread quickly as the houses were built close to each other.
“We managed to control the fire by 12.34pm while the whole operation ended about an hour later,” he said, adding that no casualty was reported.
He said the cause of the fire and total losses were still under investigation.