TWO women, one of them an elderly individual, were safely rescued after a fire broke out at a food stall in a food court near Masjid Al Falah in Felda Sungai Tiang, Pendang, at approximately 5.15pm on Saturday.
The blaze is believed to have been triggered when a gas hose became detached during cooking, causing flames to erupt suddenly in the stall’s kitchen area and rapidly intensify.
The timely rescue was carried out by two firefighters, Muhammad Athir Maula Esaha and Mohamad Anas Elyas, who were coincidentally at the premises buying food after completing duties related to the Kedah state-level Fire Cadet competition.
Upon realising that the situation was a genuine emergency, both men immediately took action to carry out a rescue operation.
Mohamad Anas said they initially assumed the fire was part of normal cooking activity before recognising that it was rapidly becoming uncontrollable.
“The fire also obstructed the exit route when flames spread to the front of the doorway, while the cabin door of the stall was found locked and difficult to open, leaving two victims trapped in a state of panic,” he said.
He added that the rescue effort involved assisting both victims to a safe area before the fire was extinguished using a fire extinguisher sourced at the scene.
He said the firefighting response was conducted tactically, focusing on both rescue and containment to prevent the fire from spreading further.
Both victims were reported to have sustained only minor injuries and were confirmed to be safe following the incident. - April 19, 2026