The upper floors of two pre-war shoplots, including a clothing store, were badly damaged after a fire broke out along Jalan Mahkota late last night.
Pahang Fire and Rescue Department director Datuk Mohd Razam Taja Rahim said the department received an emergency call at 11.33pm, following which firefighters from the Kuantan station were dispatched to the scene.
“When we arrived, the fire was already raging on the upper floor of Unit 43, which houses a clothing shop. The flames had also spread to the upper floor of the adjoining premises,” he said at the scene today.
Initial checks found that the blaze was believed to have started on the upper floor of the clothing shop, while the ground floor was largely spared from major damage.
Firefighters continued damping-down operations to ensure no burning embers remained and to prevent the flames from reigniting. The operation was carried out smoothly without any water supply problems, while no casualties were reported.
Razam said the Fire Investigation Unit had yet to establish the cause of the blaze or determine the estimated value of the losses.
He added that both buildings were more than 100 years old and were mainly constructed using timber, allowing the fire to spread rapidly between the structures.
A total of 33 firefighters from the Kuantan, Indera Mahkota, Gebeng, Taman Tas and Peramu fire stations were involved in the operation.
Meanwhile, clothing shop owner Norhan Mohd Nor, 51, said he was alerted to the fire at around 11.30pm and reached the premises about 15 minutes later.
He said the shop had been used as the main storage and distribution centre for his two other outlets in Kuantan, with a large quantity of newly arrived stock stored there ahead of the upcoming festive season.
“A lot of festive stock had just arrived. There is really nothing we can do now. This shop was the central point for distributing stock to the other outlets, so the losses are substantial,” he said.
