LANGKAWI: Quick action by four neighbours saved two boys from a fire that destroyed their house in Kampung Gelam here Sunday morning.
The men smashed the window and broke the window grill of the boys' bedroom using bricks and wooden sticks to rescue the victims, aged six and 12.
In the 8.35am fire, Zulkeflee Abu Mutalib, 48, and three others rushed to the house upon seeing that the house was on fire.
"After we managed to break the boys' bedroom window and remove the metal grill, we rescued one of the boys who were sleeping near the window.
"I entered the room through the window, it was dark as the room was filled with a thick smoke and I held my breath as long as I could while searching for the other boy.
"Once I found the boy, I immediately carried him out and handed him to my friends," he said.
At the same time, Zulkeflee added that one of his friends contacted the Fire and Rescue Department.
According to another neighbour, Shahril Azhar, 28, the two boys were in weak condition from smoke inhalation.
"The boys, who also sustained burn injuries on the face, were rushed to Langkawi Hospital.
"This is our responsibilities as neighbours and it is my first time encountering such a life threatening situation," he said.
Meanwhile, Persiaran Putra Fire and Rescue Department station officer Mohd Azri Mad Saad said a team of 15 firefighters were deployed to the scene after receiving the distress call at 8.40am.
"The house was 70 per cent destroyed in the fire," he said.
Translated from Harian Metro