Grandson's intention to rescue grandma and granduncle in fire dashed

KUALA LUMPUR: Man's intention to rescue his grandmother and granduncle who were trapped in a fire at Jalan SS 2/4 Petaling Jaya, near here early this morning was in vain as he only had time to save himself due to the thick smoke in the terraced house.
A witness to the incident, Noor Ismail, 50, said she had to ask the victim's grandson who was called Zain, in his 30's, to jump from the first floor balcony of the house to save himself.
"Zain had insisted on going into the house to rescue his grandmother and granduncle but I persuaded him to get out of the house for fear that he would be over-powered by the thick smoke.
"The neighbours and I only used water from the pipes of our respective houses to douse the fire before the firemen came," she told reporters at the location.
In the incident at about 3.30am, the two senior citizen siblings died after their two-storey terraced house that they were living in caught fire.
Rohani Abdul Manan, 89, was found dead in the toilet on the first floor while her younger brother, Ahmad Lokman, 73, who was disabled, was found in the kitchen near the bathroom.
Recalling the anxious moment, Noor, whose house is located opposite the victim's house, said she was awakened from sleep after hearing shouts for help from Zain and was shocked to see the fire on the ground floor of the house.
She said she immediately called the emergency line 999 to ask for help before waking up the other neighbours.
Meanwhile, Selangor Fire and Rescue Department Director, Azmi Osman said preliminary investigation revealed that the fire started from the ground floor of the double-storey house.
"It is possible that the victims died after inhaling thick smoke as there was no serious injury found on the bodies of the two victims," he told reporters here. — Bernama