Bride-to-be faces wedding setback after family home destroyed in fire

TAWAU: A bride-to-be preparing for her Dec 19 wedding has been dealt a major setback after her family home was among 16 houses destroyed in a fire in Lorong Fook Hwa, Batu 2, Jalan Apas, last night.

Mazlin Jufri, 23, said she was shocked by the blaze, which destroyed her parents' home around 9.30pm.

However, the private company clerk was relieved that the wedding hantaran from her future husband was safe, as the money had been deposited in a bank several days before the incident.

She said preparations for the Dec 19 wedding were largely in place, including invitations sent to both families and bookings for bridal makeup services and wedding attire.

Mazlin said the original plan was to hold a communal feast, with relatives and neighbours helping to prepare the food, as they had done for the weddings of her three siblings.

"We had planned to organise the wedding feast with the help of family and neighbours because it would be more festive with everyone gathering, while also preserving our family tradition.

"However, after this incident, we may have to opt for catering services and rent a hall for the wedding," she said when met here.

Meanwhile, Tawau Fire and Rescue Station acting chief and senior operations commander Madzlan Sarman said the department received an emergency call at 9.31pm and arrived at the scene about three minutes later.

He said the fire destroyed 16 non-permanent residential houses covering a total estimated area of nearly 5,000 square metres.

However, firefighters managed to prevent the blaze from spreading to about 300 nearby houses.

"The operation was brought under control at 11.55pm, and no casualties were reported," he said.