MELAKA: A 99-year-old grandmother and her daughter were saved from a fire at Taman Kerjasama at Bukit Beruang here - thanks to their neighbours.

       In narrating the 1.15pm incident on Thursday (March 17), one of the neighbours, Michael Koh Sing Yap, said he had just returned home from work when he saw the house next door engulfed in fire.

       "I was about to have my lunch when I saw a billow of thick smoke at the neighbour's house.

       "I then ran to the house while alerting the other neighbours and calling the Fire and Rescue Department," he said when interviewed here.

       Koh, 64, said the front grille was locked and his neighbours were trapped inside and screaming for help.

       “The fire was everywhere and we had no choice but to try to pry open the front grille.

       "There were only the two of them inside. Luckily, the fire didn't spread to the neighbouring houses," he said.

       Koh said his neighbour helped the elderly woman out from the house before running back inside to carry her 64-year-old daughter.

       "He should be the one praised for the rescue," he added.

       Meanwhile, Ayer Keroh Fire and Rescue Department’s station chief Hamdan Sudin said the grandmother was rushed to the Melaka Hospital, as she suffered 10% burns while her daughter only sustained minor injuries.

       He said a total of 15 firemen battled the blaze, which took just over 15 minutes to fully extinguish it.