Appointment with danger<\/p>\n
Shocking news stories come to light almost every day here and
\nthis tendency has made our people too busy to decide which
\ndreadful experiences are worth learning from to prevent future
\ndisasters.<\/p>\n
To mention a few consequential news items since last week:
\nthere were hair-raising stories about the finding of buried
\nfetuses, the victims of illegal abortions; a fire at Bank
\nIndonesia's new building; rumors about President Soeharto's death
\nand the subsequent fall of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
These stories followed the ugly news about haze, monetary
\nturbulence, a plane crash and other adversities. In such a
\nclimate the people seem to believe that they should prepare
\nthemselves for more unpleasant news.<\/p>\n
In this situation, just several days after the fire at the
\nunfinished tower of the central bank, still few care to talk
\nabout it although the tragedy claimed 15 lives, nine of them in
\nlifts.<\/p>\n
The cause of the tragedy is still under police investigation,
\nbut since so many buildings have been struck by fire here --
\nincluding parts of the National Police headquarters in January
\n1996 -- unanswered questions still hang in the air. Why after the
\nfire at Bank Indonesia had been spotted was the electricity not
\nimmediately switched off? This would have prevented many people
\njumping into lifts -- which later turned into infernos -- to
\nescape. Surely if the panic-stricken people had been trained in
\nfire drills they would have known to run to the fire escapes.<\/p>\n
How true was the statement by an official watching the fire
\nfighting there that the use of helicopters in an effort to rescue
\ntrapped workers and fight the fire actually made the
\nconflagration worse because of the wind caused by the rotors? Was
\nit really an arson attack? Merdeka daily reported on Tuesday that
\nabout half an hour before the fire broke at 9 a.m. its editorial
\noffice received a telephone call from someone who claimed he and
\nhis five colleagues had set a fire at Bank Indonesia on Jl. MH
\nThamrin.<\/p>\n
Did the bank officials in charge of the construction of the
\ntower carefully supervise the blueprints and focus their
\nattention on building safety to provide enough opportunities for
\nemployees to escape in case of fire? Did they use building
\nmaterials strong enough to withstand fire? Did they check whether
\nthe developer carried out the job as ordered in the planning?
\nWere extinguishers ready around the clock on each floor on the
\nday of the disaster? Were fire exits clearly marked for everybody
\nto see and located not too far from the lifts?<\/p>\n
Further questions include: Why have people been reluctant to
\nlearn from deadly fire tragedies? Have there not been too many
\ncomplaints already about a lack of workable fire prevention
\nsystems in high-rise buildings? Aren't we aware that there are a
\nlot of careless building owners with the result that fires are
\nsparked from electrical short circuits, and there is an absence
\nof decent fire escapes?<\/p>\n
There has also been lack of responsibility on the part of city
\nofficials in charge of regular supervision of fire prevention
\nequipment in public buildings. No violators have been punished in
\nany fire accidents and the building owners' stubbornness has made
\nthe city's fire inspectors reluctant to carry out their jobs. The
\ncity public order office always frets about the lack of staff to
\ncarry out supervision jobs at public buildings but they always
\nhave enough officers to conduct regular raids to round up
\nprostitutes.<\/p>\n
With this kind of attitude this country has in fact made an
\nappointment with danger and when this appointment is kept the
\ncost will be far too expensive.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/appointment-with-danger-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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