27 Houses in Krendang, West Jakarta, Gutted by Fire Suspected Caused by Electrical Short Circuit

Twenty-seven houses on Jalan Krendang Barat in Krendang, Tambora District, West Jakarta, were gutted by fire on Thursday evening (28 May). The incident left at least 250 people homeless and forced them to evacuate to emergency shelters.

Syaiful Kahfi, Head of the Operations Section for West Jakarta’s Fire and Rescue Department (Gulkarmat), confirmed the affected area was a densely populated residential zone. “Twenty-seven residential houses were destroyed,” he told Antara on Friday (29 May).

Preliminary data shows 113 households (KK), totaling 250 people, were affected. Survivors are currently sheltering in nearby mosques and government-erected tents. Fortunately, there were no fatalities or injuries.

The incident began when residents spotted flames from one house at 7:47 PM WIB. They immediately reported to the Krendang post for assistance. In response, Gulkarmat deployed full resources to the scene.

“Twenty-one fire units and 105 personnel were deployed to extinguish the blaze,” Syaiful explained the firefighting efforts on-site.

Regarding the cause, the preliminary suspicion points to an electrical installation fault. “The suspected cause is an electrical short circuit in one of the rental properties,” he added.

As of Friday afternoon at 4:00 PM WIB, some residents remained at the fire site sifting through debris to salvage valuable items such as metal materials and water pumps from the charred remains. (Ant/Z-10)