20 hours on, Penang firemen still battling fire at palm oil depot

 

Firemen trying to put out the embers from the fire that had been raging since 12.30am today.

GEORGE TOWN: Firefighters are still on the site of a palm oil depot in Nibong Tebal which caught fire early this morning, spending close to 20 hours fighting the fire since they were first on-site.

The 45,000 sq ft site at Jalan Changkat near Sungai Jawi caught fire at 12.30am and the major flames were put out nine hours later with large teams of firefighters from four brigades.

However, the embers of the fire were proving to be difficult to put out, given the large area and the combustible materials there, a fire department spokesman told FMT.

“An offensive and defensive firefighting approach had to be taken, with backhoes used to lift destroyed items to put out embers. This has to be done to prevent another round of fire,” the spokesman said.

As at 9.20pm, there were 50 firemen from six brigades, including two from the island on site trying to clear remnants of the building on fire. - FMT