80 Firefighters Battle Warehouse Blaze in Cakung for Five Hours

A total of 80 personnel from the East Jakarta Fire and Rescue Service (Gulkarmat) were deployed to extinguish a fire that broke out at a warehouse in the Cakung area. The operation lasted nearly five hours before the fire was successfully put out in the early hours of Tuesday. Abdul Wahid, Head of Operations for East Jakarta Gulkarmat, stated that the fire was reported on Monday at 10.35 p.m. Western Indonesia Time. Firefighters dispatched 16 fire engines to the scene. ‘We managed to extinguish the fire with 16 fire engines and 80 personnel. The fire was reported on Monday night at 10.35 p.m. WIB. It was successfully extinguished on Tuesday morning at 3.57 a.m. WIB,’ Abdul Wahid said when confirmed in Jakarta on Tuesday. After receiving the report, one fire engine was initially deployed as a first response. Officers arrived at the location at approximately 10.48 p.m. WIB and immediately began the extinguishing process a minute later. According to Abdul, the large blaze meant the process took a considerable amount of time. The fire was only localised around 12.35 a.m. WIB, before officers continued with a cooling process starting at 1.23 a.m. WIB to ensure no embers remained. ‘The fire was finally localised at 12.35 a.m. WIB. Officers then carried out a cooling process at 1.23 a.m. WIB to ensure no embers remained and to prevent the fire from reigniting,’ Abdul explained. The operation was declared complete at 3.57 a.m. WIB. After the situation was confirmed safe, all personnel and vehicles returned to their respective posts. The warehouse, owned by PT Sayap Mas Utama III and covering an area of approximately 700 square metres, was discovered to be on fire after security guards saw thick smoke billowing from the building, which was locked at the time. ‘Shortly after, the fire grew larger, and the incident was reported to us, the fire service,’ Abdul said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Meanwhile, the value of losses resulting from the incident is still being assessed. ‘There were no reports of fatalities or injuries in the incident,’ he stated.