ALOR STAR, May 1 (Bernama) — One of the biggest furniture stores in the city went up in the smoke yesterday, causing losses for about RM1.5 million.The 12.50pm fire at Pasaraya Perabut Gaya Borong Sdn Bhd in the Jalan Tambang Badak also destroyed its storeroom and the workshop.

Its owner, Heng Lee Meng, 45, who was on holiday in Penang with his family, rushed back after a clerk informed him of the fire.”The clerk was on her way to Kuala Lumpur when she saw smoke coming out of the storeroom and immediately contacted me and the fire authority,” he said at the scene. Heng said this was the first mishap at his store since he set up business for about 15 years ago.

Meanwhile, State Housing and the Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah, who was at the scene; said swift action by firemen prevented this fire from spreading to premises nearby, including a mosque and the used-car dealer shop.

Firemen in 14 fire-engines, including volunteers, were involved in the fire fighting operation.The losses and cause of the fire had yet to be ascertained, he said. The fire is believed to have started in the kitchen when a gas tank exploded while being changed.