BINTULU: Merdeka celebration turned bleak for 33 families as they were made homeless by a fire that razed their longhouse at Km 36 Jalan Bintulu-Tatau on Sunday.

The fire broke out at 10.50pm when most of the residents had retired to bed.

The chief, Tuai Rumah Josua Manik Buyu, said he spotted the fire when he saw bright light glowing in the kitchen of the second-door unit.

“I alerted the residents and then all that we could do was run. The fire was spreading too fast. We could not salvage most of our belongings.”

The loss was estimated at RM1 million.

Worse still, the fire also burnt some building materials that the residents had been using to construct a new longhouse nearby to replace their 21-year-old longhouse.

Josua said the fire left the longhouse folk with almost nothing.

“All our valuables, money, documents and household items have been burnt.”

He said at the time the fire broke out, 19 families were living in the longhouse.

“The rest are working in town and their family members have gone with them. They only return during festivals like Gawai Dayak and Christmas.”

He said although he had seen the beginning of the fire glowing in the kitchen of the unoccupied second-door unit, its actual cause was still unknown.

“The family in the unit has moved to Kidurong. They only stay during the day and go back before nightfall.”

The fire had completely razed Rumah Joshua by the time the Bintulu firemen arrived. It took them 45 minutes to reach the longhouse.

The firemen pumped water from a pond to put out the fire.

No casualties were reported.