Fire guts 127 shanty houses<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Firefighters argued with residents yesterday as
\nthey tried to put out a fire that destroyed 127 shanty houses in
\nPalmerah, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
More than 500 people were left homeless after the fire on Jl.
\nPelita in Palmerah's Jati Pulo subdistrict. The fire started at
\nabout 8:30 a.m and was put out at 10:30 a.m. No fatalities were
\nreported.<\/p>\n
West Jakarta Fire Brigade's head, Syamsir Makmur, said he was
\n\"very disappointed with the residents\".<\/p>\n
\"Many of them grabbed hoses from my firefighters and tried to
\nextinguish the fire themselves,\" Makmur said.<\/p>\n
Fourteen fire engines were sent to put out the fire.<\/p>\n
But locals complained that the firefighters worked too slowly.<\/p>\n
\"We were impatient. So we grabbed their fire hoses,\" a local
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Makmur said the residents did not know how to extinguish a
\nfire effectively. \"That's why it took so long to put the fire
\nout.\"<\/p>\n
A Palmerah police sub-precinct officer said the fire was
\nbelieved to have started in the house of a man named Udin.<\/p>\n
\"The fire was probably caused by a kerosene stove exploding in
\nthe house,\" the officer said.<\/p>\n
He said Udin and two others were questioned by police.<\/p>\n
Residents said Udin had left his stove on while he went to the
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
Many of the residents returned home from work to find their
\nhomes destroyed. Many of them are drivers or small traders.<\/p>\n
Only a few managed to salvage televisions, clothes or other
\nvaluables.<\/p>\n
\"I was only able to save my gold necklace and wedding ring,\" a
\nyoung woman said.<\/p>\n
Makmur said one of the firefighters, Sidik, suffered an eye
\ninjury when he was hit in the left eye with a jet of water.<\/p>\n
Sidik was allowed to go home after being treated at a nearby
\nhospital, he said.<\/p>\n
Two big tents have been erected on a nearby bank of the Tanah
\nAbang flood canal to provide emergency accommodation.<\/p>\n
West Jakarta Mayor Sutardjianto visited the fire victims at
\nthe fire site. He ordered his staff to give them food and
\nclothing.<\/p>\n
The fire was the second largest in Jakarta in May.<\/p>\n
At least 300 houses in Karet Tengsin, Central Jakarta, were
\ndestroyed in a fire last Monday. An exploding kerosene stove was
\nalso believed to have caused the fire.<\/p>\n
But police later said it was caused by an electrical short
\ncircuit. (jun)<\/p>",
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