KOTA KINABALU – Netizens and politicians are up in arms with the authorities over the Penampang fire that killed a family of four yesterday.
They said that if the emergency response centre was not based in the peninsula, rescue efforts could have been more forthcoming.
Victims Matthew Wong (50), Jecky Vun Kon Fung (48), Brendan Wong (18) and Eric Wong (15) died after being trapped in their double-storey terrace home during the fire in Hungab, Penampang, around 2am.
Many said the closest fire station is barely 1km away.
Sabah Progressive Party deputy president Edward Dagul said deaths have been blamed on emergency services numbers that are directed to Kuala Lumpur.
He said a local call centre should be established to cut the response time.
“It is ridiculously impractical and slow to divert an emergency call to Putrajaya or Kuala Lumpur. How can we expect the person answering the call to know where the location is in Sabah?” said Dagul.
The incident also caught the attention of former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, who questioned if it was wise to centralise the emergency response system in Peninsular Malaysia.
“Based on witness accounts to the media, help was delayed because the responders were asking too many questions as if they did not know where Penampang is located.
“The caller also indicated that he wasted a lot of time explaining the location of Penampang and Donggongon.
“Why can’t we have a Sabah-based emergency response system, where the responders would be clearly aware of the locations?
“We believe that this needs to be seriously reviewed in order to readjust the country’s emergency response system,” he said.
Witnesses said that they saw one of the victims frantically shining a torchlight out of the upper floor window of the home while screaming for help during the fire.
The district fire station was alerted at 2.52am and a team of firefighters was then deployed. They managed to bring the fire under control at 3.40am.
Sabah Fire and Rescue Department operations assistant director Misran Bisara said that the remains of the victims were found in two locations.
The mother was found in the master bathroom, and three others in another room. – The Vibes, September 8, 2021
