Residents concerned about fire safety<\/p>\n
Fires have recently swept through a number of densely populated
\nareas in Jakarta. These incidents have left thousands of people
\nhomeless, and have sparked debate about fire safety in the city.<\/p>\n
Supriman, 24, a fried-snack vendor in Grogol, West Jakarta. He
\nis from Sukoharjo, Central Jakarta, and now resides in Tanjung
\nDuren, West Jakarta:<\/p>\n
I wonder why most people who live in the city are careless.
\nThey tend to do things without considering the possible
\nconsequences.<\/p>\n
This happens in the subdistrict where I live here. My
\nneighbors steal power from the network of state-owned electricity
\ncompany PLN.<\/p>\n
I guess this uncontrolled distribution of illegal electricity
\nincreases the risk of short-circuits, which cause the fires.<\/p>\n
We can see many instances of this in Greater Jakarta, mainly
\namong those who live in densely populated areas.<\/p>\n
The government should live up to its responsibilities and
\nregularly checking the electric power network. They aren't doing
\nanything to prevent the alarming number of fires in the city,
\ndespite the fact that they are paid to do their jobs properly.<\/p>\n
Ade, an employee at a private company in West Jakarta. He
\nlives in Mampang, South Jakarta, with his family. He used to work
\nin Pulo Gadung, East Jakarta:<\/p>\n
I heard from the residents of a housing complex in Pulo Gadung
\nthat fires in the housing complex were set on purpose. Someone
\nstarted the fires to raze a location.<\/p>\n
I don't think it's normal for the same housing complex to
\nexperience four fires in a year.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it was because the residents lived on land that was
\nbeing disputed by the rightful owners and illegal dwellers.<\/p>\n
I guess many cases in the city are the result of arson, to
\ndrive away illegal residents.<\/p>\n
It seems that the government hasn't done anything to stop
\nthese fires. They even ask fire victims to pay for the cost of
\nthe firefighters called to put out the blaze.<\/p>\n
It sounds very ridiculous, doesn't it?<\/p>\n
Matfarian, 50, a chicken noodle vendor in West Jakarta. He
\nlives on Jl. Satria in West Jakarta with his wife, their son and
\na granddaughter. He moved to the city 25 years ago from
\nMojokerto, East Java:<\/p>\n
I wonder why residents in the city today tend to pursue
\npleasure without considering the effects.<\/p>\n
Many of my neighbors, who live in a slum area, illegally
\nconnect their houses to PLN's electricity network. I wonder why
\nthey forget the conditions. Most of us live in densely populated
\nareas and our houses are made of plywood and other flammable
\nmaterials.<\/p>\n
The poor sanitary conditions in the area attract rats. These
\nanimals are fond of chewing on cables, which could cause a short-
\ncircuit and fire.<\/p>\n
I think the careless attitude of most slum residents is to
\nblame for the numerous blazes in the city.<\/p>\n
Worse still, the government is busy with its own business and
\ndisregards low-income people who live in the slums. The
\ngovernment does not want to go down and see how the poor are
\nreally living.<\/p>\n
It's no surprise that the government is not very concerned by
\nthe fires, as they never side with the poor.<\/p>\n
Norman, not his real name, a civil servant with the City
\nTransportation Agency, who comes from Sumatra and lives in
\nKampung Melayu, Tangerang, with his wife:<\/p>\n
Being caught in fire is a human tragedy. It goes beyond the
\nability of man to stop this from happening.<\/p>\n
As a person, all I can do is feel pity and apologize to fire
\nvictims in the city.<\/p>\n
I cannot comment on why these fires occurred.<\/p>\n
The government, I think, has tried hard to tackle the problem
\nof fires during the dry season. They have done quite well.<\/p>\n
-- Leo Wahyudi S<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/residents-concerned-about-fire-safety-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }