Five workers escape Kuala Lumpur inferno

Originally published on January 16, 2014

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A fire swept through the top floors of an office tower in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday (January 15), trapping five workers on the 30th floor. Firefighters rescued the workers and no injuries were reported.

Workers renovating the 27th floor of the Menara Tradewinds office tower in Kuala Lumpur escaped a fire that swept through the upper floor of the building at around 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The fire started after sparks from an oxy-acetylene torch ignited insulation as workers were cutting into air conditioning ducts.

The fire spread through the air con duct system, travelling upwards from the 27th to the 29th floor. The five construction workers, who were Bangladeshi contract builders, attempted to douse the flames, but after attempts failed, they were forced to flee to the 30th floor.

After an almost one-and-half-hour wait, firefighters reached the men after walking up the 30 stories to where the workers had taken shelter. The five men broke open windows to allow fresh air to enter the 30th floor.

Seventy firefighters from across Kuala Lumpur were called on to fight the blaze. The rescued workers were taken to hospital at about 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, but authorities said all the worker appeared to have escaped without serious injuries.

Malaysian news sources reported that firefighters continued fighting the fire until past 10 p.m. and their efforts were hampered by non-functioning elevators. Low water pressure being fed to fire engines also contributed to the slow progress firefighters made in extinguishing the blaze.

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