Nine ATMs destroyed in blaze

What say you on the issue below?

Nine automated teller machines that were destroyed in an early morning fire in Jalan 52/6, Petaling Jaya, yesterday.

PETALING JAYA: Nine automated teller machines (ATMs) were destroyed in an early morning fire at the United Overseas Bank in Jalan 52/6 here.

Bank security guard Mohamed Mustafa said he smelt smoke while on his rounds before he noticed sparks from the back of one of the machines at the teller room.

"I immediately reached for the fire extinguisher but by then the machine was in flames."

The guard said the fire spread quickly and within minutes all nine machines including cheque deposit, cash deposit and cash withdrawal kiosks were on fire.

"I knew I couldn't do much with the extinguisher and immediately contacted the fire and rescue department," said the 52-year-old guard.

Section 7 fire and rescue operations head Kiritharan Perumal said by the time they arrived at 6.08am, all the machines were on fire.

"The damage, however, was on the exterior. The cash and cheques were not damaged."

Kiritharan said initial investigation showed that the fire was caused by a short circuit due to the 40-year-old wiring.

UOB later issued a notification on their website over the service interruption. It said the branch would be closed for two days pending repairs.