Central Jakarta prepares for fires

JAKARTA: The social welfare office in the Central Jakarta mayoralty has stocked up on seven tons of rice and 100 boxes of instant noodles to help future fire victims in the area.

Office head Suroto Purnomo told beritajakarta.com on Monday anticipatory steps were being taken because of the prolonged dry season.

"Nobody expects a fire but they happen quite often during the dry season. Therefore our office needs to prepare food. Should there be a fire, we will already have the food to help the victims," he said.

Suroto said his office has also prepared cooking equipment and would cooperate with the Indonesian Red Cross to provide tents for victims.

The office will distribute the items to fire victims through a coordinator appointed by locals. Officials from the district office will only supervise the distribution.

"We hope by having such a system we can monitor the distribution," Purnomo said. -- JP