Discarded Cigarette Butt Suspected of Causing Land Fire on Tidung Island

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The North Jakarta and Thousand Islands Fire and Rescue Sub-agency said a carelessly discarded cigarette butt was suspected of causing a land fire on Jalan Kampung Baru, Tidung Island village, South Thousand Islands district, on Tuesday morning.

“The suspected cause of the fire was a cigarette butt discarded carelessly, which ignited the blaze,” said Gatot Sulaeman, operations section head at the agency, in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He said the fire burned 300 square metres of land covered in tall grass.

According to reports, a passer-by near a cemetery saw the land on fire at 5.30am local time. Residents tried to put out the flames, but the fire grew and they were unable to contain it.

“Residents immediately reported it to officers to help extinguish the fire,” Gatot said.

The fire was put out at 6.30am. “Thankfully, after an hour of work, the fire was extinguished by eight personnel, with assistance from the community,” he said.

Gatot urged the public to take care to avoid anything that could cause a fire, particularly by not burning rubbish indiscriminately or throwing cigarette butts away carelessly.

The agency also advised residents to check their household electrical systems to prevent short circuits that could trigger fires.

“We ask residents to have a portable fire extinguisher ready to help put out fires,” he said.