Most Jakarta nightspots lack safety system<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It is a three-story building, with rooms each measuring six
\nmeters by seven meters. All of them are used in conjunction with
\nthe entertainment center, with the upper rooms functioning as
\nkaraoke lounges.<\/p>\n
Every night visitors pack the three rooms, including the
\nkaraoke hall of the Lokasari, dubbed the oldest entertainment
\ncenter and located in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Surprisingly all three rooms have only one door to enter and
\nleave. Fire exits? Certainly not considered by the building's
\nowner.<\/p>\n
No one could imagine how visitors could escape should fire gut
\nthe building, as there is only one door measuring less than two
\nmeters high by 80 centimeters wide as the only means of entering
\nor leaving.<\/p>\n
\"That's the only access. It also serves as the fire exit.
\nThere's no back door,\" said the entertainment center's
\nreceptionist, pointing to the door.<\/p>\n
Such lack of safety awareness might have been the most serious
\nfactor contributing to last week's fatal fire that gutted a five-
\nstory nightclub, Heppi Karaoke, in Palembang, South Sumatra. The
\nbuilding had no fire exits. No wonder that 52 people were killed
\nin the fire.<\/p>\n
Such an accident could happen anywhere, especially in large
\ncities that have abundant high-rise buildings, such as Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Many buildings here do not have fire safety systems as
\nrequired by the City Fire Agency. That is solely due to building
\nowners' willful disobedience,\" said chief of the operations
\ndivision at Jakarta Fire Agency Ishak Sulaiman.<\/p>\n
Ishak said the owners or users were often reluctant to allow
\nregular checks to be made of their buildings' fire safety
\nsystems. Most had also provided minimal fire safety equipment,
\nsuch as portable extinguishers, sprinklers, automatic alarms and
\nhydrants.<\/p>\n
The most recent data at the city administration shows there
\nare about 1,400 nightspots operating in the capital, including
\nmassage parlors and billiard centers, employing 150,000 people.<\/p>\n
The owners can easily ignore the requirements, Ishak remarked,
\nregretting that City Bylaw No. 3\/1992 on fire prevention failed
\nto stipulate harsher penalties for violators.<\/p>\n
According to the bylaw, those who fail to comply with the
\nrequirements are subject to three months in jail or a Rp 50,000
\n(about US$5.50) fine.<\/p>\n
A new bylaw, issued last year, increased the fine to Rp 5
\nmillion. \"The amount seems derisory to most businesspeople,\" said
\nIshak.<\/p>\n
In a related development, head of Jakarta Building Control
\nAgency Jumhana Tjakrawirya revealed that when applying for a
\nbuilding permit many businessmen did not say that their building
\nwould be used as an entertainment center or nightspot.<\/p>\n
\"They ask for building permits for office buildings or shops.
\nLater, after receiving the permits, they use the buildings for
\nentertainment purposes, and they get a permit from the City
\nTourism Office,\" Jumhana told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Jumhana said administrative penalties would be imposed on
\nthose violating building and building use permits. \"We shall
\nissue written warnings before sealing off the nightspots.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, an official at the City Tourism Office revealed
\nthat many nightspot operators often had excuses for not having
\nadequate fire exits in their buildings.<\/p>\n
\"Many of them lock the fire exits, leaving a single access and
\nexit available to make it easier for security guards to monitor,
\nthrough fear of pickpockets or uninvited visitors entering the
\npremises,\" said the official who asked to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n
Following the Palembang inferno, he claimed his office had
\nsent out warning circulars to nightspots in the capital to
\nimprove their fire prevention systems.<\/p>\n
\"At least, if there is no fire exit, they could enlarge the
\nbuilding's main doors,\" said the official, who also wished to
\nremain anonymous.<\/p>\n
Last year, the entertainment industry contributed Rp 65
\nbillion in entertainment taxes to the city's total revenue of Rp
\n3.6 trillion.<\/p>",
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