25 female students escape fire at religious school in Tanah Merah

TANAH MERAH: Twenty-five female students of the Sekolah Menengah Agama Maahad Ahmadi, Kampung Padang Siam here, escaped fiery death when they managed to escape in time after their rented house-turned-hostel was destroyed in a fire early this morning.
One of the students Norfadhilah Amran, 18, said the incident occurred at 4.30am when three students including herself were sleeping in the hostel's living room while the rest of the students slept in six separate rooms.
"I was shocked to hear some small explosions at the kitchen before fire started to raze the area. I rushed to wake other students to flee from the fire," she said when met by reporters at the scene here today.
Another student, Nuradriana Muhammad Zulkifli, 18, who was still traumatised by the incident, said she failed to save her schooling needs, including books, clothings and other important documents.
"The flame moved so fast. There has never been any fire incident in this area since I started living here about five years ago," she said.
Meanwhile, Tanah Merah Fire and Rescue Department chief Fire Assistant Superintendent Hanaffi Mohd said when the firemen arrived at the scene, 70% of the house was already gutted by the fire.
"Seven firemen and two engines took about 10 minutes to control the fire from spreading to other homes.
"The occupants in the house were Form One to Form Six students from the religious school located about 500m from their accommodation and we are still investigating the exact cause of the fire," he said. — Bernama