City considers utilizing helicopters to fight fire

City considers utilizing helicopters to fight fire

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration is considering the use of helicopters
to put out fires in high-rise buildings and dense settlements,
which are most susceptible to fire and cannot be easily reached
by fire trucks and equipment.

City administration spokesman Muhayat said on Monday that the
office had received an invitation from Kuala Lumpur to observe
the use of helicopters in the fire brigade.

"I think the use of helicopters will be very effective to cope
with the main problems where the dense settlements in the city
makes it impossible for fire trucks to reach a fire, while the
extension ladders cannot reach the high-rise buildings.

"Either Governor Sutiyoso himself or a team will take a
comparative study trip in the near future, perhaps early on
April. If we decide to use the helicopters, the procurement will
depend on next year's budget," Muhayat told The Jakarta Post.

He said the office had calculated that the city needed up to
50 times its original budget on maintenance in a bid to provide
the city with sophisticated fire safety systems and equipment.

The chief of City Fire Department, Johnny Pangaribuan, has
repeatedly said that most high-rise buildings, including City
Hall, are firetraps given the poor fire protection systems and
negligence in the maintenance of equipment.

Fires have occurred in dense settlements during the last three
months, leaving thousands of people homeless, which many
attribute to mismanagement in city planning.

A group of city councillors from Commission A for legal and
administrative affairs went on a comparative study trip to learn
about disaster management in 2001, including an integral system
as applied by Tokyo's fire department.

However, the councillors said, none of what they had seen
could be applied in the city due to differences in urban planning
and the layout of the capital city of Japan.

Head of Commission A, Posman Siahaan, told the Post on Monday
that Jakarta did not have the budget to procure sophisticated
fire safety equipment, but admitted that it should be a priority.

"Maybe in next year's budget, but again it depends on the
funds we have," he said, declining to reveal why there was no
special funding allocated for the improvement of the City Fire
Department and fire safety systems in the city.

"In the meantime, people should exercise extra caution not to
cause fires while building management should maintain the fire
safety systems. Because, whether or not a building has a
sophisticated fire system, most fires are caused by people's
ignorance," he said.