Bride-to-be faces wedding setback after family home destroyed in fire

Tawau: A bride-to-be, Mazlin Jufri, 23, is facing a significant setback to her December 19 wedding after her family home was among 16 houses destroyed in a fire last night. The blaze erupted around 9.30pm at Lorong Fook Hwa, Batu 2, Jalan Apas, causing extensive damage to her parents' house. Despite the devastating loss, Mazlin expressed relief that the wedding hantaran from her future husband remained safe, as it had been deposited in a bank prior to the incident.

Mazlin explained that preparations for the wedding were largely finalized, including sending invitations to both families and booking bridal makeup services and wedding attire. The original plan was to host a communal feast, with relatives and neighbours contributing to the food preparation, as they had for the weddings of her three siblings. However, the fire has disrupted these arrangements, potentially necessitating the use of catering services and renting a hall for the event.

Upon receiving an emergency call at 9.31pm, the Tawau Fire and Rescue Station arrived at the scene within three minutes. They managed to extinguish the fire before it could spread to approximately 300 nearby houses. The operation was controlled by 11.55pm, with no casualties reported.