Rubber Factory Fire: Aftermath Sees Residents' And Traders' Vehicles Covered With Soot

KULAI, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- A fire at a rubber factory in Sengkang here on Tuesday not only destroyed the building structure but also left black, oily, and sticky residue on the vehicles of nearby residents.

Heavy rainfall that accompanied the incident resulted in the rainwater turning sticky and thus polluting the surrounding area.

Cleaner Sukiman Jayos, 57, who lives in Temenggong Apartment, located five kilometres from the incident site, said that his Proton Wira car was also affected, leaving it difficult to remove black water stains without using wax.

"The rainwater that fell looked like it was mixed with oil, and it smelled the same," he told Bernama when met at his home here today.

He said that there was a strong smell of smoke in the air that made breathing difficult.

Meanwhile, Kulai Cafe owner Siti Fathimah Hatmim, 41, said that about 15 pieces of her employees' uniforms were damaged due to the black rainwater.

She said that the soot marks also caused her white tent to turn grey with black patches.

"Additionally, seven cars, including mine and the workers' cars, were dirty and had to be sent to the shop for a waxing process to remove the sticky residue," said Siti Fathimah, who has been in business since 2017.

She said she had no choice but to spend nearly RM300 to clean her Honda car.

Meanwhile, Siti Norliana Rahman, 34, said that her tent at the Temenggong Ramadan Bazaar also had black oily stains.

“Thick black smoke can be seen not far from the bazaar location. Not only the tent, but my car also has the same marks," said Siti Norliana, who has been trading there for over a year.

Meanwhile, the fire department had received an emergency call regarding the blaze at 4.37 pm on Tuesday, involving a semi-permanent plastic storage facility measuring 300x500x80 feet, with extinguishing operations reaching 90 per cent by noon today.

So far, five schools in the surrounding area have been closed due to thick smoke and burning smells in the school area that could potentially affect the health of the school community.

A total of 56 students from Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Taman Kota Kulai and 24 students from SK Taman Kota Kulai 2 also experienced mild symptoms following the fire.

--BERNAMA