JOHOR BARU, 10 Feb 2009: Thirty Indonesian immigrant families were rendered homeless when their three squatter longhouses were razed in Kampung Bakar Batu today.
Twenty-two fire-fighters in four engines spent about 30 minutes to prevent the blaze from spreading to nearby squatter houses.
Each of the razed longhouses had comprised 10 rooms.
Larkin Fire and Rescue Department operations commander Misran Bisara said when the fire broke out about 10.40am, most of the victims were away at work.
At the height of the blaze, the fire-fighters were forced to pump water from a nearby drain due to low water pressure in the area.
A victim, Mohd Munir Munafah, said he was cleaning his lawn when fire broke out from an adjoining house.
The 53-year-old only managed to salvage some of his electrical appliances.
Another victim, Masriaton Matrawi, 36, was not so lucky. She lost all her belongings in the fire. — Bernama
