Arsenal catches fire, one injured

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

A fire broke out in an arsenal belonging to South Sulawesi Provincial Police in Batua area here on Friday, but no fatalities were reported.

The fire, which began at 10 a.m., was localized and put out immediately before it could spread. None of the guns, rifles or ammunition stored in the arsenal were affected.

The only victim of the fire was a civilian working at the Batuan Police School, Laode, who suffered minor burns to his right hand.

Some witnesses said that they heard a blast before the fire, which most likely originated from an old septic tank in the arsenal compound. The blast was believed to then spark a fire, which later burned six motorcycles parked next to the arsenal. The fire also burned the wall and roof of the building. The fire was quickly put out after seven fire trucks were dispatched to the scene.

According to Laode, he was moving motorcycles into a warehouse next to the arsenal when the blast occurred. He was moving 76 motorcycles into the warehouse.

"When I moved the 23rd motorcycle, suddenly I heard the blast. Fire quickly spread and burned several motorcycles and also my hand," he said.

Chief of South Sulawesi Provincial Police Insp. Gen. Saleh Saaf quickly arrived at the location following the fire.

He said that the blast might have originated from an unused septic tank, now used as a rubbish dump where people dump items that could explode such as cans of hair spray and perfume.

"The septic tank would produce ammonia and it was hot, which may have led to the explosion," he said, adding that this was only speculation and would have to be confirmed later by his subordinates, who are investigating the case.

Saleh said that the Batua arsenal was not the only police arsenal in South Sulawesi province.