SANDAKAN, April 29 — About 30 non-permanent homes spanning 3.5 acres were destroyed in an early morning fire at a village behind PPH along Jalan Bokara, Karamunting.

Firefighters received a distress call at 3.16am and deployed 21 personnel to the scene, supported by multiple agencies including police, civil defence, and volunteers.

The blaze was brought under control by 4.29am, with no casualties reported.

Fire crews used water from fire engines and nearby hydrants, and successfully prevented the flames from spreading to around 100 nearby homes.

The operation ended at 7.01am, while the cause of the fire and total losses remain under investigation.

The incident occurred just 11 days after a separate fire destroyed around 1,000 homes in Kampung Bahagia, roughly 10km away in the same area. — Daily Express

Exclusive: Samaritans call for mandatory training for firefighters amid rise in incidents

Suicide-related callouts to fire and rescue services in England have tripled in the last decade, with Samaritans now calling for mandatory training for firefighters, who they say are struggling to deal with the increase in traumatic incidents.

New figures show that fire services in England attended 3,250 suicide callouts in the year ending September 2025, the equivalent to 62 callouts a week. This was up from 997 callouts in 2009-10 when records began.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Petrol production hit and full extent of damage unknown after ‘unprecedented’ fire at Viva plant in Corio

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An explosive fire at a Geelong oil refinery – which supplies half of Victoria’s fuel and 10% of Australia’s – has been extinguished, with the impact on petrol production and the extent of the damage still unknown.

The blaze at the Viva Energy facility in Corio – one of two refineries left in the country – broke out just after 11pm Wednesday, with Fire Rescue Victoria alerted to the blaze by multiple calls to triple zero reporting explosions and flames.