Fire Incident Results in Major Damage: A fire that broke out on Saturday afternoon led to significant damage at a lorry and engine oil storage facility situated on Jalan Cenderai 27, Taman Kota Puteri, Masai.
The Johor Fire and Rescue Department Operations Centre confirmed that there were no reported injuries or fatalities due to the incident.
Emergency services received an alert at 12:54 PM, with the first firefighting unit arriving shortly after at 1:06 PM. Upon reaching the scene, firefighters observed that the fire was already escalating.
“Preliminary evaluations indicate that around 60% of the facility has been destroyed. Strong winds played a role in allowing the fire to spread towards an adjacent abandoned waste oil storage area,” according to a statement from the department.
The firefighting response involved 34 personnel from multiple Fire and Rescue Stations, including Pasir Gudang, Johor Jaya, Tebrau, Kota Tinggi, and Larkin, alongside volunteers from Mount Austin and Ulu Tiram brigades.
By 2 PM, reports indicated that thick black smoke could be seen from over five kilometers away along the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) Expressway, rising up to 100 meters into the air. Witnesses also noted several explosions during the incident that alarmed local residents.
A reporter from Bernama highlighted that flames had encroached upon a residential area located approximately 50 meters from where the fire started, with nearby residents feeling heat radiating from it.
Zulkarnain Mohamad Nor, a local resident aged 63, expressed his apprehension about this being their neighborhood’s first such incident. He revealed his home is situated only about 50 meters from where the blaze began.
“I saw thick smoke around noon; shortly afterward, the flames intensified rapidly. It might have resulted from spilled oil but I cannot confirm,” he stated. He noted that several lorries parked on-site were entirely engulfed by flames.
Residents voiced concerns about potential similarities with recent incidents in Putra Heights. “The fire department advised us to evacuate,” Zulkarnain remarked; he has lived in the area for two decades.
Housewife Elesha Alwi, aged 42, shared her fright after hearing loud explosions. “The fire started around 1 PM but I heard loud bangs beginning around noon. I did not expect by one o’clock we would witness such towering flames alongside dense black smoke.”
She was home with her three children during this turmoil and described their panic as they evacuated through their back door upon police instructions.
In an update provided by Senior Fire Superintendent II Rosfarawadi Ismani Ismail of Zone I, it was confirmed that five properties were affected by the blaze which consumed roughly 1,000 square meters and damaged fifteen vehicles.
Impacted sites included a waste oil storage facility, a recycling center, a soap manufacturing plant, a lorry parking area as well as a site for storing construction materials; both the lorry parking space and oil storage suffered total destruction.
Drivers reportedly escaped without injury during this event; among those destroyed were seven tankers along with five motorcycles and three private cars.
Rosfarawadi indicated that while control of the fire had been achieved by then ongoing operations continued to prevent any rekindling.
Although no definitive cause has been determined yet; accounts from workers suggest it may have begun within either the recycling or oil storage areas. Nearby residents were instructed to evacuate as a precautionary measure but would be permitted to return once authorities deemed it safe.
As of 6:30 PM on Saturday evening, Bernama reported that approximately twenty families from Taman Megah Ria had been ordered to temporarily leave their homes while many gathered in nearby open spaces for safety reasons.
