KAJANG: An early morning fire has destroyed at least seven factories and one storage unit at Kawasan Perindustrian Budiman here.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Wan Md Razali Wan Ismail said a distress call was received at around 12.15am on Friday (June 30).
"We immediately dispatched personnel and fire engines from the Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, Serdang, Bangi, Kajang Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and Cyberjaya stations to the scene.
"Our initial information was that a fire had engulfed four factory units before spreading to adjacent units," he said when contacted.
He said the fire was believed to have spread quickly due to the proximity of the units as well as an ongoing renovation works.
"The factories also had a high fire load because they were packed with flammable items.
"We managed to control the fire by 4.37am but operations to extinguish it are still ongoing," he added.
Fire load, or the weight of combustible items per square foot of floor space, is used to assess the potential severity of a fire within confined places.
It is used as a form of hazard assessment to determine the level of fire risk that exists within a particular area.
Wan Md Razali said three factories along Jalan KPB 4 – a car audio systems manufacturer, cat food factory and cabinet maker – were completely destroyed.
Two other units, also involved in making car audio systems, were partly damaged.
"Along Jalan KPB 3, an events management storage unit, a plastic billboard manufacturer, model house manufacturer, tobacco processing factory and mattress factory were completely destroyed
"A total of 48 firemen are involved in the operation," he added.
