12 workers escape warehouse fire

JAKARTA (JP): Twelve men and women escaped unharmed from a burning plastic and paper recycling warehouse in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, yesterday.

Some of the employees of PT Inti Plastik on Jl. Mangga Ubi I in the Kapuk subdistrict climbed over a two-meter high wall, and others demolished sections of it to escape.

The fire began around 6:50 a.m. and continued until 7:15 p.m. destroying 13 houses and leaving 114 homeless.

Five of the homes were razed.

Syamsir Makmur, head of the West Jakarta fire brigade said there were no hydrants at the scene.

"Firefighters had to use the Apuran river, around 400 meters away, a small pond, about 50 meters away, and a ditch in front of the building to get water," Syamsir said.

Flammable materials in the warehouse made it more difficult to put out the fire, he added.

Hendra, the company's security guard, told the Jakarta Post the fire started in a pile of plastic and paper outside the building.

He said he and another employee, Kadir, tried to put out the fire with extinguishers, but failed. "Meanwhile, 12 employees inside the building were screaming for help," Hendra said.

The fire spread to the store and houses to the left of the warehouse, Hendra said.

There were 30 homes to the left of the warehouse, only separated from the building by a two-meter high wall, he said.

The 1,000-square-meter warehouse built in August 1993 is owned by Tommy Kusuma, Hendra said. Tommy was not available for comment.

The company which employs 20 people recycles plastic and paper waste from other firms.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

However Syamsir speculated the fire may have been started by a chemical reaction in the pile of waste, which he said had been there a long time.

Residents said they occupied the land belonging to the state- owned oil company Pertamina with land tiller status.

They had to demolish a 200-meter wall separating their homes from a plot belonging to PT Intiland to escape the fire.

Azhar, a resident whose house was razed, said PT Inti Plastik should compensate them because it was responsible for their losses.

Several residents, holding their remaining belongings, were seen staring at their burnt homes. Hendra said the company would build a public kitchen for victims.

There have been more than 40 fires in the capital this year. (11/jun)