City to check fire safety systems in public buildings

City to check fire safety systems in public buildings

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration is planning to evaluate
fire safety equipment installed in all public places and
establishments in the city following Thursday's fire in Bogor
that claimed 10 lives.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said over the weekend that he has
instructed his subordinates to carry out the evaluation program
as soon as possible.

His office will evaluate the fire safety systems in movie
theaters, discotheques and markets throughout the city.

"The evaluation should be carried out to prevent the Bogor
inferno from taking place in the capital city and we also plan to
tighten the supervision of those buildings," Surjadi told
reporters.

He added that it is important to review whether fire safety
systems in public places are being used and maintained by
building managers and owners.

Surjadi said the evaluation will include checking hydrants,
emergency exits and training to use safety equipment.

He said his office will issue tighter regulations on fire
safety systems in public buildings.

Last Thursday a fire razed the three-story Pasar Kebon Kembang
market in Bogor killing 10 people, as officially announced on
Saturday, and injuring at least 19 others. The fire was
extinguished more than 30 hours later.

Initial media reports put the death toll as high as 76 before
the store's management said the remains of 50 bodies were in fact
mannequins.

Firefighters had difficulty in getting into the building
because of its poor design. The nearby hydrants were reportedly
dry which forced the firefighters to draw water far from the
blaze.

Meanwhile, the head of city fire brigade, Suharso, said many
public buildings in the city are prone to fire because their fire
safety systems do not function adequately.

"Most of the systems have never been checked or have been used
and then left in poor condition," he said.

For example, they don't have hydrants on each floor as well as
outside the building, customers are not informed about the
location of the emergency stairs and the water sprinklers do not
function adequately.

Suharso said Provincial Decree No.3/1992 stipulates that all
buildings in the city should have sufficient equipment to
minimize the number of victims and prevent a fire from spreading
further before fire brigade units arrive.

The equipment includes emergency stairs, hydrants and hose
reels that should be installed on each floor, sprinklers and fire
alarms.

Suharso said the hydrants on each floor should be able to be
used for half an hour. There should be one hose reel and one
hydrant in every 30 square meter area.

However Suharso gave assurances that the vast majority of
buildings in the city built after 1992 are equipped with
excellent fire safety systems because his office is involved in
implementing the decrees.

"The fire brigade is also active in checking all fire safety
systems before the city development supervision agency issues a
building use permit," he said.

"The fire brigade checks up the system once a year and until
now all of them have obeyed the regulation," he said.

The city's fire department employs 2,620 people and has 157
fire engines. (yns)