Authorities to build more fire stations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration plans to build more fire
\nstations across the capital to prevent an increase in fires, a
\ncity official said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Head of the City Fire Agency Suharso said that the more fire
\nstations built, the faster firefighters could reach a blaze and
\nextinguish it.<\/p>\n
\"We hope to reach a location within nine minutes so that we
\ncan quickly assist residents extinguish a fire,\" said Suharso, as
\nquoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
He was speaking ahead of the agency's 82nd anniversary, which
\nfalls on Thursday.<\/p>\n
There are currently 83 fire stations across the capital, far
\nbelow the minimum requirement of a fire station in each
\nsubdistrict. Jakarta has 265 subdistricts.<\/p>\n
The City Fire Agency, established on March 1, 1919, by the
\nDutch colonial administration, currently employs 1,600
\nfirefighters and has a total of 178 fire engines equipped with
\n200-meter-long water hoses.<\/p>\n
Each fire engine has a 4,000 liter water capacity, needing 10
\nto 15 minutes to fill its water tank.<\/p>\n
Data at the agency showed there were 791 fires in the capital
\nlast year, causing Rp 84.3 billion (about US$8.51 million) in
\ndamages.<\/p>\n
There were 36 deaths from the 7,388 people affected by fires
\nand 71 injuries.<\/p>\n
Half of the fire outbreaks were triggered by short circuits,
\nmostly occurring in residential complexes and commercial
\nbuildings.<\/p>\n
\"The fires were mostly caused through negligence, for example
\nby residents being careless with flammable items, such as
\nsmoldering cigarette butts and stoves,\" said Suharso.<\/p>\n
He urged residents not to steal electricity and follow proper
\nsafety procedures when installing electrical appliances.<\/p>\n
Suharso added that inspections conducted by his office
\nrevealed that many residents had illegally connected their power
\nlines to nearby electricity poles, unbeknownst to state
\nelectricity company (PLN).<\/p>\n
Thirty percent of fire cases were caused by other conditions,
\nsuch as feuds between residents, which often occurred in densely
\npopulated areas like Matraman in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Fire outbreaks sparked by a community brawl have become a
\ntrend in the capital lately,\" said Suharso.<\/p>\n
During a mass brawl in Matraman, mobs burned down one house
\nand the front section of the Lautan Berlian Bank office on Jl.
\nMatraman Raya in July last year.<\/p>\n
The mobs, involving hundreds of people from Berlan
\nsubdistrict, threw smoke bombs at rival Palmeriam residents, with
\nexplosions heard in Berlan subdistrict.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest fires recorded by the city gutted dozens of
\nhouses in a densely populated area in Bukit Duri subdistrict,
\nSouth Jakarta, on Dec. 2 last year, leaving some 86 families
\nhomeless. (07)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/authorities-to-build-more-fire-stations-1447893297",
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