Balikpapan Hit by Another Fire, Gunung Sari Ilir Settlement Engulfed by Flames

A fire struck the city of Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Tuesday (18/8). After flames consumed a goods storage warehouse in RT 28, Margasari Village, West Balikpapan, at 03.10 WITA, a subsequent fire hit a residential area in RT 42, Gunung Sari Ilir Village, Central Balikpapan, at around 09.50 WITA.

The incident startled local residents because the fire was located directly behind Restu Ibu Hospital. Flames were seen growing from the densely populated settlement, with initial estimates suggesting the fire originated from a resident’s house.

Chairman of RT 41, Agus Priono, said he only learned of the incident after being contacted by a neighbour while he was away from home.

“Initially I received news from a neighbour. After that I immediately went home to see the situation. It turned out the fire was behind my house,” said Agus.

He added that the fire appeared very quickly and suddenly. This triggered panic among residents who scrambled to save themselves and secure their belongings to prevent the flames from spreading to other areas.

“The fire suddenly flared up and grew, and several residents reported the incident to the Balikpapan Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD),” he said.

Upon receiving reports from residents, the Balikpapan BPBD immediately deployed personnel and vehicles to the disaster site. Based on observations at the scene, at least five fire engines were dispatched to the location to bring the blaze under control.

Firefighters acted quickly to isolate the flames and continued with a cooling process to ensure the fire did not spread further to surrounding buildings.

As of now, there has been no official confirmation regarding the exact number of houses or buildings destroyed in the incident. The exact cause of the fire is also still under investigation by the authorities. At the scene, BPBD officers are still focused on collecting data to determine the total losses and the overall impact of the disaster.