Jakarta high-rise buildings labeled as deathtraps<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The city hall may look impressive from the outside but visitors
\nwould be reluctant to step inside if they knew that an outbreak
\nof fire could turn the building into a towering inferno, given
\nthe lack of maintenance of its fire safety equipment.<\/p>\n
If fire gutted the ninth floor of the building, people trapped
\non the upper floors would have to go upstairs, as the fire escape
\ndoes not go any further than that floor.<\/p>\n
The firetrap was revealed by the chief of the City Fire
\nDepartment, Johny Pangaribuan, to a seminar on the prevention of
\nfire held on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"City hall is only but one instance of how high-rises in
\nJakarta, especially government offices, have neglected their fire
\nsafety systems,\" Johnny said.<\/p>\n
He said the city administration has always reasoned that there
\nwas no specific funding allocated for the maintenance of its fire
\nsafety systems.<\/p>\n
\"It also said that there was no individual department that was
\nin charge of maintaining fire safety systems,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A recent report by the City Fire Department revealed that out
\nof over 1,000 buildings in Jakarta, only 50 percent maintained
\ntheir fire safety systems. Most of the negligent buildings were
\nowned by government agencies, it said.<\/p>\n
A high-rise is required to have well-maintained sprinklers,
\nfire extinguishers, two fire escapes and easy road access for
\nfire trucks.<\/p>\n
Johnny added that there were only a handful of government-
\nowned buildings which met fire safety standards.<\/p>\n
The BNI and Bank Mandiri buildings, Johnny said, were among a
\nfew of the city's high-rises which provided sufficient safety for
\ntheir occupants in case of fire.<\/p>\n
He also commended foreign companies occupying some high-rises
\nin the city for upholding fire safety regulations.<\/p>\n
The head of the city's Building Control and Oversight Agency,
\nDjumhana, said that as part of the campaign to promote fire
\nsafety, the city administration plans to release a list of which
\nbuildings comply with fire safety requirements.<\/p>\n
\"The list enables the public to know which buildings are safe
\nand which are not,\" Djumhana said, adding that the list would
\nforce building owners in the city to uphold the law on fire
\nsafety.<\/p>\n
Johnny said that leniency of the law had also prompted
\nbuilding managers to ignore the minimum requirements for fire
\nsafety systems.<\/p>\n
\"Building managers found guilty of not installing adequate
\nfire safety equipment were only fined Rp 100,000 (US$11), which
\nis far below the maximum punishment,\" he said, adding that Bylaw
\nNo.3\/1973 on fire safety stipulated that the maximum fine was Rp
\n5 million.<\/p>\n
So far, the fire department has only managed to bring two
\nerrant companies to court, Johnny said.<\/p>\n
He said that the fire department had filed a proposal to
\nCity Council to amend the outdated bylaw so that it could impose
\nmore severe punishment on violators.<\/p>\n
Johnny said that in the near future the fire department would
\ninstall fire alarms in 600 of the city's most fire-prone areas.<\/p>\n
\"In case of fire, a resident needs only to set off the alarm,
\nand firefighters from a nearby post will immediately respond,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Table:<\/p>\n
Fire incidents 1998-2002<\/p>\n
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002*<\/p>\n
Number of fires 795 831 794 772 653
\nEst. losses 6,210 60,764 2,410 4,263 n.a
\n(million rupiah)
\nDeath toll 54 48 71 38 n.a<\/p>\n
*) Until November
\nSource : City Planning Agency<\/p>",
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