3-year-old girl dies in a fire

A three-year-old girl identified as Yuni Angraini died after suffering critical burns on Sunday evening, when a fire razed a rented house in Mampang Prapatan, South Jakarta.

The victim, who was reportedly sleeping in separate room from her parents, was caught in the blaze that quickly engulfed the house following the explosion of a kerosene stove.

The girl's father, Supriadi, was only aware that she had been trapped inside the house when he did not see her with his wife, who had already fled the house for safety. He then tried to save his daughter but his efforts came too late, as the fire had spread to the rest of the house.

The fire brigade reported that a fire also gutted three houses and a storehouse of a furniture company in Cakung, East Jakarta, on Sunday afternoon. No casualties were reported in the blaze.

The second blaze was reportedly caused by a short-circuit.

Suharso, the deputy head of the City Fire Brigade, was quoted by Antara as saying over the weekend that there had been at least 473 fires in the city in the past seven months.

Twenty-one people were killed and 27 injured in the fires which caused Rp 16 billion (US$7.4 million) in material losses.

Suharso said that last year there were 789 fires in the city, causing estimated total losses of Rp 86 billion.

Short-circuits, kerosene stove explosions and improper disposal of cigarette butts were cited as the major causes of fires in the city. (arf)