Balikpapan Fire Destroys 11 Homes
A fire broke out in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Thursday (20/8) in a densely populated residential area on Jalan Dahor II, West Balikpapan. The flames spread rapidly and are estimated to have destroyed around 11 homes belonging to residents.
Head of the Balikpapan Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Usman Ali confirmed the incident, saying his office received a report of the fire at around 09.30 WITA. The fire occurred in an area with a high density of residential housing in RT 48 and 49, Jalan Dahor II, West Balikpapan.
“The fire took place in a fairly densely populated residential area. These conditions caused the flames to spread quickly, especially since some of the residents’ buildings used wooden materials,” he said.
Based on his agency’s preliminary data collection, Usman continued, eight houses at the front of the affected area were damaged. Officers were still carrying out cooling operations, so the total number of buildings burned could not yet be fully confirmed.
“The information recorded at the front is eight; at the back we have not been able to enter because the situation is still being cooled down,” Usman said.
He estimated that the number of affected houses reached around 11 units. Officers managed to bring the blaze under control about 30 minutes after firefighting began. Once the fire was under control, officers continued sweeping and cooling operations to ensure no hotspots reignited.
“During the firefighting process we faced obstacles, because the fire location was in the middle of a residential area with very narrow access roads, such as alleys measuring only a little over one metre wide. This made it difficult for fire engines to approach the fire location.”
In addition to the narrow access, he added, a number of residents tried to save belongings from their homes while officers were fighting the fire, so officers could not work freely.
“We deployed around 15 units from six sectors and two posts to handle the fire. Firefighting also received assistance from other elements, including Brimob and firefighting units from a number of companies,” he said.
According to him, the involvement of cross-agency fleets is important in handling fires in densely populated settlements. His agency also frequently coordinates with company fire brigades, including Pertamina, in dealing with fire incidents.
As cooling operations were still under way, BPBD had not yet received information about any casualties.
Usman said his agency would still carry out an inspection after conditions at the site were declared safe.
“For now there is no information yet. We will check after the cooling is complete,” he said.
A resident named Rani said the flames were first seen when she had just woken up. At that time, the fire had already grown large from one of the houses at the edge of the settlement.
“The fire was already big, but the house at the very end was first. The house is called Rumah Niskar,” Rani said.
According to her, the fire grew quickly because the burning house was made of wood. The settlement, most of whose residents are workers, also meant that a number of houses were empty in the morning.
“I did not hear any explosion before the fire and there was no power cut before the flames appeared. Residents only learned of the incident after hearing other residents shouting when they saw the flames growing,” she concluded.