A total of 76.8 tonnes of mandarin oranges intended for Chinese New Year celebrations were destroyed after a fire gutted a warehouse along Jalan Kebun Sultan here at about 9pm last night.
Warehouse manager Hong Leng Feng, in his 40s, said he was alerted to the incident after receiving a call from residents living near the premises.
“All the mandarin oranges stored here were meant to supply the whole of Kelantan, with most supermarkets in Kota Baru sourcing their stock from this warehouse,” he told reporters at the scene.
The warehouse, which had been in operation for about 40 years, was completely destroyed in the blaze and is expected to disrupt the supply of mandarin oranges for this year’s Chinese New Year celebrations.
“Besides mandarin oranges, all onion supplies stored in the warehouse were also destroyed,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) assistant director of operations Mohd Fadhlizil Iqram Ahmad Pauzi said an emergency call was received via the NG999 system at 9.09pm, prompting the immediate deployment of fire-fighting teams to the location.
The first team arrived at the scene at 9.16pm and found the warehouse fully engulfed in flames.
Fire-fighting operations were carried out by personnel from the Kota Baru Fire and Rescue Station, assisted by teams from Kota Darulnaim, Tunjung and Pengkalan Chepa, as well as a water tanker.
Fadhlizil said the cause of the fire and the estimated losses are still under investigation.
He added that fire-fighting efforts were hampered by the collapse of storage racks inside the warehouse, which required the use of a skylift. Two lorries and two motorcycles were also destroyed, and all items stored in the warehouse were completely gutted.
