GEORGE TOWN, Feb 5 — Firefighters took more than six hours to put out the blaze which engulfed the 7.3 hectares of forested area along Jalan Chee Seng in Tanjung Bungah near here yesterday afternoon.
Bagan Jermal Fire and Rescue station operations commander, Wan Chik Ariffin Mohd Ismail said firefighters received an emergency call at 4.42 pm and arrived at the scene 10 minutes later.
“Upon arrival, we found three parts of the forest area were already destroyed and a total of 50 officers and firefighters were involved in the firefighting operation,” he said when contacted today.
He said the firefighters had to walk to the site due to the area’s hilly terrain and they also faced difficulties in carrying out firefighting work due to the uneven ground.
It took them more than six hours to put out the fire, he said.
Wan Chik Ariffin said the fire was finally brought under control at 9.41 pm and the cause of the fire was still being investigated by the Penang Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) forensic team.
“Firefighters conducted a size-up to ensure that the fire did not spread to the nearby area,” he said, adding the operation completed at 11.30 pm.
He said no casualties reported and firefighting work was also assisted by volunteer firefighters from Mount Erskine, Paya Terubong and Bukit Bendera.- BERNAMA