IPOH, March 11 — A fire that broke out at the Mydin hypermarket in Manjoi has been brought under control as of midnight, said Perak Fire and Rescue Department director Sayani Saidon.
Sayani said the fire and rescue department was still in the process of dousing the fire completely but the department has not received any reports about casualties.
“The current status of the fire is that we are still in the process of dousing the fire completely but we have brought the fire under control and the operation is still going on,” she said during a press conference, here on Sunday night.
Earlier, Perak Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (operations) Sabarodzi Nor Ahmad, when contacted by Bernama, had said that an emergency call was received at 7.09pm, and a team of firefighters from the Ipoh Fire and Rescue Station were dispatched to the scene.
"The Fire and Rescue Department received a call stating that smoke was seen in the Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) switch room before the fire broke out on the upper floor," he said.
He added that so far, no casualties have been reported.
Meanwhile, Sayani added that the operation involved 123 firefighters from JBPM, Rela and the General Operations Force (APM) and at the same time was assisted by TNB, Lembaga Air Perak (LAP), Mydin staff, Manjoi state assemblyman Hafez Sabri and the Tambun parliamentary constituency service centre.
Sayani added that when firefighters initially arrived at the scene at 7.25pm to inspect, there was no fire but smoke was billowing from the main switch board of the Mydin hypermarket but about 20 minutes later the security guard at the hypermarket informed the firefighters that there was fire on the roof of the building.
“The operation was shifted to the upper floor and the roof where the fire extinguishing operation started. The fire started spreading very fast. The fire started at the roof section before spreading to other parts,” she said.
She added that the department is waiting for the forensic report.
Meanwhile, a worker from Mydin who did not want to reveal his name said a small fire had started at the store situated at the back in the second floor at about 6.45pm.
However, when the firefighters arrived there was an explosion at about 7.45pm before the fire started spreading.
“All the staff and workers were directed to vacate the building and asked to gather at a safe place,” she said.
A visit to the location by Bernama at 10.40pm found a structure of the hypermarket had collapsed.
— Bernama
