JOHOR BARU: Eight squatter houses in Jalan Usaha 2, Kampung Usaha Jaya here, were destroyed in a fire early today.
According to Larkin Fire and Rescue Station chief Suhaimi Jamal, in the incident at about 2am, four houses were completely razed while for four other houses the kitchen area was damaged in the fire.
The incident affected the 16 occupants of the houses, but all managed to escape, he said when contacted here.
According to him, the fire also spread rapidly in view of the structure of the houses which were made of wood.
He said the operation to put out the fire involved 41 firefighters and 10 fire-engines from the Larkin, Tebrau and Skudai Fire Stations as well as police and the Civil Defence Force personnel and Tenaga Nasional Berhad staff.
“We faced a bit of a challenge when putting out the fire because the paths in the area were narrow, the water pressure was also low besides the houses were built too close,“ he said, adding the fire was completely extinguished at 4.47am. — Bernama
