The fire, which broke out at around 10am, destroyed 39 wooden shanty houses at the Kampung Muslim refugee settlement in Batu Arang.

In a Bernama report, Labuan fire and rescue department director Rahman Ali said the department received an emergency call at 10.47am and immediately dispatched firemen to the scene.

He said the fire was brought under control in less than an hour, with the settlement’s residents helping to put out the blaze.

“There were no casualties. The swift action of our firemen saved hundreds of other wooden houses in the settlement,” he said.

Rahman added that the cause of the fire was being investigated.

Bernama reported that residents, including children and the elderly, were seen collecting their belongings and seeking temporary shelter while authorities coordinated relief efforts.

A similar fire destroyed hundreds of houses in the same settlement in 2009.

There are 334 houses in the densely populated settlement, housing about 1,700 residents.

Labuan National Security Council director Hafiez Daud said that agencies such as the social welfare department and the federal territories Islamic religious council are providing assistance to the affected families.