Man injured, four houses destroyed in fire

Technician Cheah Wei Liang, 43, suffered burns on the chest and left arm in the fire which broke out at about 10.30 pm and destroyed four semi-wooden houses, believed to have been built more than 50 years ago.

"I was at home alone, when a neighbour told me that there was a fire near my mother's house, which is not so far away.

"I rushed to the place and after my mother and sister were out of the house, went back to douse the flame, but the fire was spreading fast, and nothing could be salvaged," he said when met by reporters at the scene.

Meanwhile, Melaka Fire and Rescue Department Zone 1 officer Zulkhairani Ramli said the department received a distress call at 10.34 pm, following which two fire teams, each from the Ayer Keroh and Melaka Tengah fire and rescue stations, rushed to the scene.

On arrival, the fire teams noticed that the fire from the first house had spread to the second, third and fourth house, but the firemen managed to prevent the fire from spreading to other nearby houses, he said, adding that all the six occupants, who are in their 30s to 60s, managed to flee before the houses were razed.

He said the department was investigating the cause of the fire and amount of losses incurred.