KUALA LUMPUR: A goldsmith risked his life, plunging into thick plumes of smoke to save his display jewellery from a fire that partially destroyed the Datuk Keramat Market here.
Nik Arif Nik Azmi said he was alerted about the fire at around 1.15am yesterday and rushed to the scene.
“I saw the flames and ran to my shop to save the jewellery.
“I am thankful that we managed to take out all the jewellery,” he said yesterday, adding that the jewellery is estimated to be worth millions of ringgit.
He said the fire caused at least RM100,000 worth of damage to three of his shoplots there.
“I believe the fire originated from a clothes shop in front of my shoplots before spreading to five other shops and a nearby house,” he said.
Resident Mohd Shahril, 39, said he was asleep when he heard an explosion.
“At first I assumed it was just kids playing with fireworks, but then my mother started screaming.
“I ran out of the bedroom and saw the shoplot near my house on fire,” he said, adding that he quickly grabbed all the valuables and documents he could find and fled his house with his mother.
He said the fire damaged his house structure, some electrical appliances as well as a sewing machine.
Fire and Rescue Department operations commander Mohd Fahmi Abdul Rahim said the incident affected an area of about 25x37m.
“We dispatched fire engines, emergency medical rescue services vehicles and rapid intervention motorcycles from Keramat, Hang Tuah, Wangsa Maju, Tun Razak and Setapak Fire Stations along with 47 personnel to the scene,” he said.
“We arrived at around 1.41am and saw huge flames engulfing the building.
“We believe the fire spread quickly due to the wooden structure of the building,” he said.