A large fire broke out at a pallet recycling company in Taman Perindustrian Maju Jaya, Kempas on Friday morning, sending thick black smoke billowing into the sky that could be seen from nearly 10km away.
The blaze rapidly spread across the premises, engulfing about 30,000 square feet, or roughly 80% of the company’s operational area, before firefighters managed to bring it under control.
Johor Fire and Rescue Department operations commander Muhammad Zaharul Asyraf said emergency services received a distress call at 9.03am, with the first response team arriving at 9.11am.
He said that upon arrival, firefighters found the fire already raging across a large section of the facility, with heavy smoke visible from several kilometres away.
All workers were safely evacuated before the arrival of firefighters, and no injuries or fatalities were reported in the incident.
However, firefighting efforts were hampered by low water pressure from the nearest hydrant, located around 800 metres from the site.
He said crews were forced to source water from another hydrant more than 1km away, requiring the strategic deployment of five fire engines along the supply route to maintain continuous water flow.
A total of five fire engines, one water tanker, and an Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) unit were deployed to the scene to combat the blaze.
Firefighters took nearly two hours to bring the fire under control, after which they continued overhaul operations to extinguish remaining hotspots and prevent reignition.
Authorities said the cause of the fire and the estimated losses are still under investigation.
