City gets modern fire engine

City gets modern fire engine

JP/byi

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief handed over a new automatic fire engine to the city administration yesterday in connection with the promotion of health and occupational safety in the work place, known locally as the K3 program.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja officially received the new fire truck in a ceremony at the City Hall.

The Rp 2.8 billion (US$1.25 million) German-made vehicle has a 50-meter long stair ladder (see photo) which is automatically extended and retracted.

The city's five mayoralties have a total of 150 fire engines, and nine of them are equipped with 40-meter automatic stair ladders.

The truck, jointly purchased by the owners of 18 highrise buildings in Jakarta, is said to be better than the existing trucks. The new fire engine can be prepared in only four minutes, or six minutes less than the other automatic trucks owned by the city.

Minister Abdul Latief called on the city's businessmen yesterday to provide at least four more new automatic fire engines to counter fires in the increasing number of highrise buildings and skyscrapers. (03)