WAREHOUSE FIRE: SESB SUFFERED LOSSES ESTIMATED AT RM40 MLN – MADIUS

KOTA KINABALU, The Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) is believed to have suffered losses estimated at RM40 million when fire broke out at a warehouse storing its cables in Jalan Menggatal near here yesterday, said its chairman Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau. He said the fire, which started around noon, destroyed many of the cables kept there. He added that because of the incident, SESB will have to re-order new cables and assess the situation after the fire-fighting operation is completed. "This is an unfortunate incident considering it impacts our efforts to provide the best electricity infrastructure for Sabah folks. However, this doesn't dampen our spirit to give the best for the people of Sabah,' he said when met at the scene here today. Commenting on the fire-fighting operation, which entered the second day today, he said their biggest challenge was getting the water supply following the lack of water in the fire hydrant and nearby ditch. We had to obtain water from an area about one kilometre (km) away from the scene. "This fire-fighting operation requires very high water pressure, so we need a huge source of water supply,' he said. Yesterday, it was reported that the fire destroyed 1.21 hectares of the warehouse and an empty house while the storage of transformers, Hyraxoil oil, feeder pillar machines and a building were saved. Source: BERNAMA News Agency