SL(Y) 36: April 2008

"You Can Burn Down The Building, But You Can Never Burn Down The Society, You Cannot Burn Youth Power, You Cannot Burn What We Stand For!"

-Sir Shreenath C.

On the 20th April of 2008, the headquarters of Bulan Sabit Merah situated near the

Indian Street caught fire and got burnt down. The fire started from the back of the building and

finally it spread throughout the whole building. Fortunately, no one got injured but this

catastrophe brought many people to a state of shock, sadness, and sorrow.

The fire started around 11 to 12 noon. It did not take that long for the fire to spread

throughout the whole building. According to En. Kent, EXCO 2007, it only took about less than

an hour for the fire to spread. The fire fighters took quite some time to put out the fire as there

was no water source.

Right now, there is no sign of evidence to what caused this tragedy. The fire fighters are

doing all they can to investigate and find out the cause of the fire. There's no doubt as to how

this massive lost made a great impact to those who consider HQ to be a place of diversion and

ease. Some even call it their second home even to people who only visits HQ on a regular basis.

All we can do now is to pray and hope that everything goes well.

How does HQ looks like now?

Well, here are pictures of how it looks like after the fire.

The following is an article from The New Straits Times.

The New Straits Times, 21 April,2008.

KLANG: A fire destroyed the Klang Red Crescent Society headquarters in Jalan Tengku Diauddin yesterday, crippling its ambulance services.

The 1pm fire engulfed the wooden bungalow, rented by the society from KTM Bhd for RM60 a month since 1990, within minutes.

There was little the 20-odd firemen, who were dispatched to the scene onboard three engines, could do to save the building.

The society's honorary secretary, M. Somasuntharam, said volunteers training in the building smelt burning plastic from one of the stores shortly before the fire started.

"They only had time to evacuate the building and had to leave valuable life-saving equipment as well as computers and radios behind."
Fortunately, the volunteers managed to remove eight vehicles, including ambulances, which were parked outside.

Only one vehicle was slightly damaged, while two other unused vehicles, parked behind the bungalow, were destroyed.

Somasuntharam said losses were estimated at RM150,000.

The bungalow, which used to be quarters for train station masters, is strategically located in the centre of the town and the society had previously resisted efforts by authorities to have them move.

"We will not be able to operate our ambulance services effectively if we move too far away. Also our volunteers, who are mostly teenagers, may find it an inconvenience," said Somasuntharam.

He hoped well-wishers would help the society find a solution to its predicament.