KOTA BARU: The joy of a single mother and her sister celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri came to an abrupt end after their houses in Kampung Baung here were razed to the ground on Friday.
The family of Rosniza Yusoff, 45, and her 49-year-old sister, Rosnani, who were living next to each other in the same village, were left with only clothes on their backs when the fire broke out around noon.
Recalling the incident, Rosniza said she was sleeping in her room when she was awakened by the sound of a 'minor explosion', which she initially thought was children playing with fireworks outside her house.
"Several minutes later, I panicked when I heard my sister screaming from her house about seeing fire spreading on the rooftop of my house.
"I burnt my left arm when I tried to open the door of one of the rooms in the house which caught fire.
"My 13-year-old nephew, Muhd Harith Hakimi, also injured his right wrist when he tried to enter the house to retrieve his belongings," said Rosniza, who is now seeking shelter at a relative's house in the same village.
The fire, she said, spread too fast that she was unable to salvage anything except for some important documents.
"Even all the clothes and school equipment of my youngest son, Atiq Fitri Zulkifli, who is a Form Four student at a secondary school in Pengkalan Chepa here, were destroyed in the fire.
"Due to the fire, I also had to postpone my daughter Nurul Adlin Asyiqin's enrollment for a new semester at Universiti Teknologi MARA in Machang near here," she said.
Rohaniza estimated losses of RM250,000 from the fire, which destroyed her childhood home and her sister's house.
"Having said that, I am grateful that all of us are safe without severe injuries," she said.
