HULU TERENGGANU, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- A fire destroyed almost the whole house of Ajil State Assemblyman Datuk Rosol Wahid here last night, and also turned into ashes his prized collection of more than 2,000 books.

No one was in the house in Kampung Batu 23 during the fire, which is believed to have occurred at about 10 pm, as the family members had gone elsewhere to break the Ramadan fast, Rosol told reporters.

He said his wife, Toh Puan Halipah Ahmad, knew about the fire only when she opened the front door after returning from breaking fast at her elder sister's house in Kampung Baung nearby and saw fire and smoke spreading from the kitchen.

She telephoned him while he was on the way home from attending a breaking-of-fast event at the Terengganu Entrepreneur Development Foundation in Kuala Terengganu.

"I advised her not to enter the house, but to summon the fire brigade," he said.

Rosol lamented that he was saddened by the loss of more than 2,000 books which he had collected over the past 10 years.

Kuala Berang Fire & Rescue chief Mohd Zazuli Badru said 14 officers and men were rushed to the house in two trucks from the Kuala Berang and Wakaf Tapai fire stations.

He said the cause of the fire and damage were under investigation. Several elected representatives also arrived at the scene, among them DatukTengku Putera Tengku Awang (speaker of the State Legislative Assembly), Datuk Abdul Rahin Mohd Said (Teluk Pasu) and Datuk Din Adam (Bukit Besi).