Most hydrants in Tanah Abang market not working<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
While the police have yet to reach any conclusions as to the
\ncause of the fire that gutted Tanah Abang market in Central
\nJakarta on Wednesday, one of the prime factors contributing to
\nthe extent of the disaster was the fact the most of the fire
\nhydrants in the country's largest textile market were not
\nfunctioning.<\/p>\n
Fire fighters have pointed to the out-of-order hydrants as the
\nmajor obstacle they faced in finding enough water to immediately
\nput out the fire, smoke from which was still visible on Saturday
\nevening.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post joined a number of fire fighters examining
\nthe condition of the hydrants on Saturday.<\/p>\n
There are three pit hydrants and over 30 box hydrants
\ninstalled at various points in the five blocks of textile and
\ngarment kiosks in the gutted four-story building.<\/p>\n
Two of the pit hydrants, which are located at the front and
\nback of the market, lacked hydrant keys, which are supposed to be
\nplaced on the top of the red-painted hydrants. Both, officially
\nmaintained by the Jakarta Fire Department, cannot be opened even
\nwith the fire fighters' hatchets.<\/p>\n
\"We cannot use the hydrants nor open them. The market operator
\n(PD Pasar Jaya) should have the right keys to open them,\" fire
\nfighter Susilo told the Post during an inspection of the hydrants
\non Saturday.<\/p>\n
The third pit hydrant, the only one which was still working
\nwhen the fire broke out on Wednesday, is located near the
\nmarket's multistory parking lot, where the local fire
\ndepartment's Unit 622 is also stationed.<\/p>\n
Most of the box hydrants were locked during the fire, said
\nSusilo, who was also in charge when the fire broke out on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
\"Even if there was water in the hydrants, the volume would not
\nenough to put out the fire. Therefore, we took water from the
\nnearby river,\" Susilo said.<\/p>\n
Head of the Tanah Abang market management, Buhar Tambunan,
\nsaid PD Pasar Jaya had planned to replace the hydrants last
\nJanuary. Reports said they had been there since 1976.<\/p>\n
\"Are the box hydrants working? Every Saturday, our cleaning
\nservice staff mop the floors by drawing the water from the box
\nhydrants,\" he claimed.<\/p>\n
Starting Sunday, the market will be closed to the public due
\nto the unstable condition of the building, Tambunan said.<\/p>",
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