NIBONG TEBAL: Firefighters took eight hours to fully extinguish a blaze that broke out at a wooden pallet storage facility here early today.

The fire, which began at 3.17am at Soon Hoe Chan Sdn Bhd on Jalan Besar, Sungai Jawi, affected around 60 per cent of the open-air warehouse, including its roofing structure.

Penang Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations John Sagun Francis said fire crews from four stations — Sungai Bakap, Bandar Perda, Kepala Batas and Nibong Tebal — were deployed to the scene, arriving within 17 minutes of the distress call.

"Our personnel managed to bring the flames under control by 5.16am, but it took until 11.45am to fully extinguish the fire," he said in a statement tonight.

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An excavator was used to shift large stacks of wooden pallets, allowing firefighters to carry out a direct attack on the fire.

"Owing to the high fire load, the blaze spread rapidly, and our teams had to create fire breaks to stop it from spreading further. The open layout of the storage site also posed additional challenges," he added.

No injuries or casualties were reported.

A total of 27 firefighters, assisted by members of local Volunteer Fire Brigades (PBS), were involved in the operation.

John said overhaul work to eliminate hidden embers concluded at 5.28pm.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.