Fire razes furniture factory

MUAR: A multi-million ringgit furniture factory in the Bukit Pasir Industrial Park near Jorak was razed by fire yesterday.

The fire at the Bintang Emas Furniture Sdn Bhd factory broke out at about 9.30am.

Muar Fire Services and Rescue Department chief Shukor Abdullah said three fire engines, including one from Tangkak, and 30 firemen, rushed to the scene to control the fire.

He said the sprawling factory was filled with tonnes of raw material and the fire was so huge that smoke could be seen from as far as five kilometres away.

“The heat was also strong and with weak water pressure in the area, we could not put out the fire fast enough.

“However, we prevented it from spreading to neighbouring factories,” he said yesterday.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Ali, 60, said he had worked at the factory for more than 15 years and it was the first time it had caught fire.

He said the factory engaged more than 300 workers, mostly foreigners from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Vietnam.