Dozens of houses razed by fire

JAKARTA (JP): At least 71 houses in a slum area in Warakas, North Jakarta, were razed by fire on Sunday, rendering hundreds of people homeless.

No fatalities were reported.

The fire, which started at about 2 a.m., originated from a house owned by Kasimin, 36, on Jl. Warakas, Panggo subdistrict.

"An electrical short circuit on the second floor of the house is believed to have caused the fire," M. Irawan, a police officer at North Jakarta Police station, said.

Irawan said the fire quickly spread to other houses, most of which were made from wood.

The North Jakarta Fire Department deployed 15 fire engines to the fire site, located under high voltage cables.

"We arrived late because the residents were late to call us. The fire was already big by the time we got there," Suparman, a firefighter, was quoted by Antara as saying.

Suparman said they also had difficulty extinguishing the fire because fire engines could not reach the location due to the area's narrow alleyways.

He said the firefighters were forced to join together several fire hoses to reach the fire location.

A fire engine also sprayed water from the Cawang-Tanjung Priok elevated toll road.

The firemen also had difficulty fighting the fire because residents grabbed the fire hose in panic, he said.

"Unfortunately they did not know how to extinguish the fire systematically, thereby making it difficult to put out," he said.

The firefighters finally managed to extinguish the fire at 4:50 a.m. The total losses caused by the fire are being calculated.(jun)