SANDAKAN: Sekong assemblyman Alias Sani was reprimanded by firefighters for endangering himself by entering the scene of a blaze in Kampung Bahagia early this morning.
"They told me, 'YB should not go to the front.' But as an elected representative, we give whatever we have — even if it means risking our lives — to save our people.
"These families have difficult lives. Their homes are small, just enough to shelter their children from the rain and heat," he said when contacted.
Alias said he was awakened by his child around 3am and immediately rushed to the water village, but the fire was already raging upon arrival.
He added that the situation quickly escalated into a race against time, with houses built closely together and strong winds fanning the flames.
In a viral video, the two-term assemblyman was seen tearing down the walls of a house while flames raged nearby.
Despite the effort, he said the house could not be saved, and they had to move further down to break the chain of fire.
He also climbed onto rooftops to coordinate efforts.
"People were panicking. We had to organise them and tell them what to do.
"We had to break the chain of fire. Some houses had to be torn down to create a firebreak. We even cut off parts of a bridge and doused surrounding homes with water to contain the spread.
"At one point, I was trapped between the fire in front and the sea behind, and had to escape by boat. It was truly an intense experience," he said, adding that he remained at the scene until the fire was put out about 9am.
Afterwards, he visited victims at the Batu Sapi evacuation centre.
Alias, who took precautions by soaking his clothes and covering his nose, said he is in stable condition, although he may have inhaled some smoke.
The pre-dawn fire engulfed about 1,000 houses and left 9,000 people homeless. The village had about 1,200 houses. ()
Authorities received a report on the fire at 1.30am. - NST
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