Water village folk jump into sea as fire destroys stilt houses

One of the victims said she jumped into the chest-high waters on seeing the bridge to her home had collapsed.

Houses on stilts in Tawau ablaze on Saturday night as fire razed about 30 homes. Firefighters said about 300 other houses were saved. (Fire and rescue department pics)

TAWAU:

 Several residents of stilt houses were forced to jump into the sea to save themselves after their homes and connecting bridges in Kampung Sri Aman were destroyed in a fire last night.

One of the victims, Liny Daurong, 58, said she and her husband were asleep and were awakened at about 11.30pm by the shouts of their son that their house was on fire.

“My son, who had just returned from work, immediately carried his father out of the house because my husband cannot walk or speak. I managed to take some important documents and followed my son. However, I turned back because he had gone back to the house to try to save other belongings.

“I saw that the fire was spreading fast and many houses were burning. When I saw that the bridge to our house had collapsed, I jumped into the sea,” she told reporters today. Liny said she also shouted to her son, instructing him to throw their belongings into the sea, which was at chest level, while praying for their safety.

Liny said she hoped the government would allow the residents to rebuild their homes on the original site and provide financial assistance for reconstruction. The fire destroyed 30 semi-permanent stilt houses.

Another victim, Janing Jamalang, 57, was also asleep at the time and was awakened by her husband, who told her to flee to safety. In the panic, she did not manage to save any belongings, including important documents.

She said the situation was chaotic, and her one-month-old grandchild was placed inside her daughter’s clothing before they ran to safety.

“At that time, I saw people jumping into the sea, and many were already on boats. The flames were raging, but I am grateful that my family is safe, even though we were left with only the clothes on our backs,” she said, adding that she had lodged a police report regarding the incident and the loss of important documents.

Janing echoed Liny’s hope that the government would help ease the burden of the fire victims and provide appropriate assistance, including allowing homes to be rebuilt on the original site.

Meanwhile, Tawau welfare officer Nurul Fadhilah Abdul Hamid said an evacuation centre has been activated to accommodate more than 200 fire victims. - FMT