Jerantut retiree’s home burns down after husband dies, son’s wedding dreams go up in flames

JERANTUT, April 26 — A retiree in Kampung Bukit Genting is facing a double tragedy after her home was destroyed in a fire just 10 days after the death of her husband.

The blaze, which occurred around 1.30pm yesterday, also wiped out preparations for her son’s wedding planned for August, Malay news outlet BH reported today.

“I was inside the house when I suddenly smelled something strange and saw smoke coming from the back. When I checked, the fire was already raging and had started burning stored old items like rags. It spread quickly, burning wooden structures and old belongings about five metres from where I was,” Rusdah Jantan, 61, was quoted as saying.

She said she and her two daughters tried to put out the fire using a hose, but weak water pressure and heavy smoke forced them to retreat.

“My 31-year-old son, who had come from my nearby grandmother’s house, immediately shouted for us to get out, and he was the one who called the Fire Department” she was quoted as saying.

Rusdah said the loss was especially painful as her husband died on April 15 at Hospital Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah in Temerloh.

“This is all that remains of my memories,” she added.

Her son, Mohamad Hairi Saadun, said the family accepts the tribulation despite losing almost everything in the fire.

He said attempts to extinguish the flames failed as the smoke quickly thickened, making it impossible to save their belongings.

He added that he had already begun buying items for the upcoming wedding scheduled in August, with preparations costing about RM3,000, all of which were destroyed in the fire.

Jerantut Fire and Rescue chief Raja Mohd Arif Raja Shamsuddin said an emergency call was received at 1.27pm and arrived at the scene at 1.45pm.

He said additional support from Jengka fire station was deployed, and no casualties were reported, while the cause of the fire is still under investigation.