ALOR STAR: The family was made homeless more than a year and a half ago when their home in Lorong Seri Hujung, here, was gutted in a fire.
However, they now have a new house, built on the same site, thanks to the Fire and Rescue Department.
Mohd Sabri Abdul Majid, 48, and wife Noor Lizawati Hamzah, 42, lost their home in a fire on March 1 last year.
The couple and their three children had to seek shelter at a relative’s home while trying to get funds to rebuild their house, but were finding things difficult.
Their plight, however, was heard by the Fire and Rescue Department. Starting last month, the department built them their new house.
Department deputy director-general (operations) Datuk Amir Yusof said the house was among 44 built by the department under its National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) programme.
He said the department allocated RM1.83 million for such projects nationwide, with each of the houses involved costing between RM40,000 and RM50,000.
Amir said the project was aimed at helping fire victims rebuild their lives.
“The department has also spent RM639,000 to repair 47 homes which were damaged due to fire,” he said at a ceremony to hand over the keys to Sabri’s new house by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah.
Noor Lizawati, when met after the ceremony, said the family was grateful to the department as they had lost everything in the fire.
“In fact, my eldest daughter Nur Fatihah, 20, sustained 30 per cent burns in the early morning incident. Our focus, for a long while, had been on her, because she needed constant care to nurse the injuries at the time,” she said, adding that Nur Fatihah had recovered and was currently furthering her studies in engineering at a university in Moscow.
Lizawati also praised the assistance provided by the state government in helping her family to be included in the NBOS programme.
She said the family plans to move into the two-bedroom, single-storey house before the end of the year.