Electric faults, carelessness blamed for fires<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The City Fire Brigade is singling out
\nshortcircuits and electrical problems, such as the use of low-
\nquality cables, as the main cause of fires in the city.<\/p>\n
\"Sixty percent of fires in the city are caused by
\nshortcircuits or other related electrical problems,\" said Tatang
\nSastrawiria, the head of the City Fire Brigade.<\/p>\n
Sastrawiria blamed carelessness like failing to put out stoves
\nand burning candles or mosquito coils, as another major cause of
\nfires in the city, especially in slum areas.<\/p>\n
\"Please use standard electrical cables. Don't pile your T-
\nadapters or make improper cable connections,\" Sastrawiria said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
He also urged building owners not to forget to regularly check
\nfire alarms and extinguishers as well as fire hydrants.<\/p>\n
Jakarta, which occupies 650 square kilometers and has a
\npopulation of 8.5 million, has only 375 fire hydrants, far below
\nthe 12,000 theoretically-required.<\/p>\n
He added that Singapore, whose total area is around 630 square
\nkilometers with 2.5 million people, has some 12,000 hydrants.<\/p>\n
Sastrawiria underlined the need to build a special underground
\npiping network, which will channel running water from the water
\nmain owned by the City Water Company (PAM Jaya) to increase the
\nperformance of fire brigades in putting out fires.<\/p>\n
Data at the City Fire Brigade showed that fires in Jakarta
\ndecreased slightly from 911 in 1991 to 789 in 1993 and 594 from
\nJanuary to September 1994.<\/p>\n
But Sastrawiria quickly remarked that one should look into the
\nscenes of the fires rather than counting their numbers.<\/p>\n
\"If it razed Pondok Indah Mall or Cipulir Plaza, of course,
\nits impact is bigger than the ones razing a small hut,\" he said
\nreferring to two modern shopping centers in South Jakarta which
\nwere ravaged by fire recently.<\/p>\n
Helicopters<\/p>\n
When asked about the need to equip the fire brigade with
\nhelicopters, he said that the brigade could still rely upon fire
\nengines because it has several electronically-controlled ladder
\ntrucks.<\/p>\n
Sastrawiria appealed, however, to owners of high rise
\nbuildings in the city to build helipads on top of their buildings
\nfor safety reasons. \"It is not a must, but please, if possible,
\nbuild rooftop helipads to help smoothen evacuation measures in
\ncase of fire,\" he said.<\/p>\n
An aviation expert of PT Gatari Air Service said last month
\nthat none of the around 400 high rise buildings in Jakarta have
\nrooftop helipads with technical specifications approved by the
\nauthorities.<\/p>\n
Andreas Prayogo said then that currently only 10 buildings,
\nincluding Djajanti Plaza, BNI 46 Building, Grand Hyatt Hotel,
\nMandarin Hotel, all in Central Jakarta, have constructed
\nhelipads.<\/p>\n
A now defunct Jakarta Ordinance No. 3\/1975 initially required
\nowners of buildings taller than 40 meters to build helipads for
\nevacuation measures in case of fires.<\/p>\n
A newer ordinance in 1992, however, abolished the requirement
\non the grounds that the Jakarta Fire Brigade had been equipped
\nwith long and electronically-controlled ladders.<\/p>\n
Richard Lim, the project director of the Kuala Lumpur-based
\nGlobal Expositions (M) Sdn. Bhd., told The Jakarta Post during a
\nbreak in yesterday's news meeting that regulations over safety
\nand fire protection are needed to regulate the developments of
\nhigh rise buildings.<\/p>\n
\"People cannot simply build any building,\" Lim said.<\/p>\n
Other speakers at yesterday's press conference included John
\nKemur, the president of PT Puri Temu Reka, Maj. Gen. (ret)
\nSutjipno, the chairman of the Indonesian Association of Self-
\nInitiatives Security Professionals (APSSI), and Marthin Palinh,
\nthe secretary general of the Indonesia Association of Fire
\nProtection (Askari).<\/p>\n
All of the groups will jointly conduct a seminar cum
\nexhibition with the theme \"Fire Protection Safety and Security\"
\non Nov. 23-24 at the Jakarta Convention Center. (09)<\/p>",
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