Diners flee as restaurant goes up in flames

JAKARTA (JP): A fire broke out in the two-story Ikan Tude restaurant on Jl. Blora in Central Jakarta during the lunchtime rush hour on Monday, forcing customers eating in the building to flee in panic.

The second floor of the building, which is located in a densely populated area, was severely damaged, but no fatalities were reported.

"Obviously our work for the day just vanished. We have yet to calculate how many tables and chairs were burnt and how many windows were broken, but it's a lot," said Yoseph, a manager at the restaurant which specializes in Manado food.

He placed material losses caused by the incident at roughly Rp 100 million (US$14,285).

The fire was reportedly discovered on the second floor by restaurant employees at around 12:30 p.m.

"Our restaurant was full of visitors when waiters and waitresses on the second floor shouted, 'Fire...fire!'" Yoseph explained.

Dozens of patrons then rushed out of the building, an employee named Novel explained.

Some patrons tried to help restaurant staff salvage chairs, tables, refrigerators, fans and food from the flames, he said.

The Central Jakarta Fire Department dispatched seven fire engines to the scene and brought the blaze under control in less than 15 minutes. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Robert Kamasi, who heads the city fire department, said the fire was strange because none of the building's employees had been able to pin point where it first came from.

"When I asked the manager he said the fire came from the second floor, but employees who were on the second floor stressed that the fire started on the first floor," he said.

Robert said firemen experienced difficulty obtaining water and were forced to push gaping onlookers away from the crowded site.

Police were also deployed at the scene to secure the area and help the flow of traffic along Jl. Blora and nearby Jl. Sudirman, where many motorists stopped to stare at the hectic situation.

Central Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Iman Harjatna, who was present at the scene, said police helped the restaurant's proprietor guard items salvaged from the blaze.

"No one can guarantee that looters are not around here," he said. (emf)