SHAH ALAM (Feb 19): Lunar New Year joy turned to anguish and sorrow when the homes of 16 families in Bagan Hailam fishing village, Port Klang went up in flames at about 10 pm last night.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department Head of Operations Management and Station, Alimaddia Bukri, said he received an emergency call on the incident at 10.25pm and personnel were sent to the scene, Bernama reported today.

The 70 people impacted by the fire were mostly families and their relatives celebrating and hosting open houses for the Lunar New Year of the Dog.

“Firefighters had difficulty in controlling the fire as the houses were wooden houses, besides being placed close to each other. They were also forced to use the tanker lorry and take water from the nearby factory fire hydrant,” Alimaddia told Bernama.

He said 14 houses were destroyed in the fire but there were no casualties. The cause of the fire was still under investigation.