A pre-dawn fire tore through Kampung Pasir squatter settlement in Miri, Sarawak, destroying nine homes but leaving all 37 occupants unharmed.

MIRI: Thirty-seven residents narrowly escaped with their lives in the early hours of today when a fire tore through a densely packed squatter settlement in the Miri district of northern Sarawak, destroying nine wooden houses before firefighters managed to contain the blaze.

The fire broke out at approximately 4am at Kampung Pasir, a squatter colony situated near Lutong bazaar, roughly 20 kilometres north of Miri city centre, according to the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba).

Emergency response teams were dispatched immediately upon receiving the distress call.

However, upon arrival, firefighters faced a significant challenge — the narrow pathways snaking through the settlement made access difficult, while the tightly packed rows of timber houses posed a serious risk of the fire spreading rapidly to neighbouring structures.

“When the fire units arrived, nine houses were already ablaze. We managed to prevent the fire from spreading to even more houses. A total of 37 occupants in the affected houses managed to escape without any serious injuries,” the department said in a statement.

Among those displaced were elderly residents and young children, all of whom have since been placed in temporary shelter while awaiting assistance from the Welfare Department.

No fatalities or critical injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
The incident has once again cast a spotlight on the vulnerability of Miri’s squatter communities.

The city is home to eight large squatter colonies with a combined population of approximately 10,000 residents — many of whom live in ageing wooden structures built in close proximity to one another, with limited road access for emergency vehicles.

 The Sun Malaysia