Six century-old wooden shophouses were destroyed in a fire at Jalan Abdullah, Buloh Kasap, on Wednesday morning.
The blaze, which broke out at about 8.15am, completely gutted the upper wooden sections of the premises, involving several businesses including a fruit shop, traditional medicine outlet, fertiliser store, rubber trading shop and a restaurant.
One of the affected tenants, Ibrahim Ahmed, 51, said he had just opened his shop around 8am when a relative noticed thick smoke coming from the fruit shop nearby.
“Thankfully someone alerted us early. Otherwise, I don’t know what could have happened,” he said.
Ibrahim, who has been operating his business at the premises for the past 17 years, said the fire is believed to have started in the storeroom of the fruit shop before rapidly spreading to neighbouring units.
“I immediately told my workers to save whatever we could, but the fire spread too fast because the upper structure was made of wood.
“The heat was extremely intense and we only managed to save a few items. We could do nothing except watch the building burn,” he added.
Bandar Baru Segamat Fire and Rescue Station operations commander Muhd Hazim Abd Razak said the department received an emergency call at 8.23am.
A total of 16 firefighters, along with fire engines and other assets from the Segamat station, were dispatched to the scene.
He said firefighters used water from fire engine pumps and nearby hydrants to bring the blaze under control.
“Firefighting operations are still ongoing to ensure the fire is fully extinguished. The cause of the incident and total losses are still under investigation,” he said.
