TUARAN: Some 40 houses were destroyed in two separate fire incidents in Sabah, one here yesterday evening and the other in Kinarut later the same night.

In the first incident, 23 houses were destroyed when a fire broke out in Kampung Mengkabong, Tuaran, around 3.30pm.

No casualties or injuries were reported as villagers managed to escape in time.

Tuaran Fire and Rescue station chief Mohammad Nor Amit said a team of 24 firefighters in three fire engines was immediately deployed to the scene after they were alerted to the fire at 3.34pm.

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They were assisted by teams from the Kota Kinabalu and Putatan Fire and Rescue stations.

"Upon arrival, we began extinguishing the fire to prevent it from spreading to nearby houses.

"Twenty-three semi-permanent houses were completely destroyed, while another suffered 50 per cent damage.

"A vehicle was also destroyed in the blaze, but no one was injured," he said when contacted.

The fire was brought under control by 5.15pm.

In the second incident, 17 houses were destroyed in a fire at the Kinarut Settlement Scheme later the same night.

Sabah Fire and Rescue Department operations division assistant director Muhammad Taqiuddin Victor Doon said they received a call at 11.22pm and dispatched 39 firefighters from the Papar Fire and Rescue Station, assisted by teams from Penampang, Putatan, Kota Kinabalu and Tuaran.

"Upon arrival, we found that 17 houses were fully engulfed in flames," he said.

The blaze was brought under full control by 12.25am, and the operation concluded at 4.06am.

"Swift action prevented the fire from spreading to neighbouring homes. The cause of the fire and the estimated losses are still under investigation," he added.