Electric faults, carelessness blamed for fires

Electric faults, carelessness blamed for fires

JAKARTA (JP): The City Fire Brigade is singling out
shortcircuits and electrical problems, such as the use of low-
quality cables, as the main cause of fires in the city.

"Sixty percent of fires in the city are caused by
shortcircuits or other related electrical problems," said Tatang
Sastrawiria, the head of the City Fire Brigade.

Sastrawiria blamed carelessness like failing to put out stoves
and burning candles or mosquito coils, as another major cause of
fires in the city, especially in slum areas.

"Please use standard electrical cables. Don't pile your T-
adapters or make improper cable connections," Sastrawiria said
yesterday.

He also urged building owners not to forget to regularly check
fire alarms and extinguishers as well as fire hydrants.

Jakarta, which occupies 650 square kilometers and has a
population of 8.5 million, has only 375 fire hydrants, far below
the 12,000 theoretically-required.

He added that Singapore, whose total area is around 630 square
kilometers with 2.5 million people, has some 12,000 hydrants.

Sastrawiria underlined the need to build a special underground
piping network, which will channel running water from the water
main owned by the City Water Company (PAM Jaya) to increase the
performance of fire brigades in putting out fires.

Data at the City Fire Brigade showed that fires in Jakarta
decreased slightly from 911 in 1991 to 789 in 1993 and 594 from
January to September 1994.

But Sastrawiria quickly remarked that one should look into the
scenes of the fires rather than counting their numbers.

"If it razed Pondok Indah Mall or Cipulir Plaza, of course,
its impact is bigger than the ones razing a small hut," he said
referring to two modern shopping centers in South Jakarta which
were ravaged by fire recently.

Helicopters

When asked about the need to equip the fire brigade with
helicopters, he said that the brigade could still rely upon fire
engines because it has several electronically-controlled ladder
trucks.

Sastrawiria appealed, however, to owners of high rise
buildings in the city to build helipads on top of their buildings
for safety reasons. "It is not a must, but please, if possible,
build rooftop helipads to help smoothen evacuation measures in
case of fire," he said.

An aviation expert of PT Gatari Air Service said last month
that none of the around 400 high rise buildings in Jakarta have
rooftop helipads with technical specifications approved by the
authorities.

Andreas Prayogo said then that currently only 10 buildings,
including Djajanti Plaza, BNI 46 Building, Grand Hyatt Hotel,
Mandarin Hotel, all in Central Jakarta, have constructed
helipads.

A now defunct Jakarta Ordinance No. 3/1975 initially required
owners of buildings taller than 40 meters to build helipads for
evacuation measures in case of fires.

A newer ordinance in 1992, however, abolished the requirement
on the grounds that the Jakarta Fire Brigade had been equipped
with long and electronically-controlled ladders.

Richard Lim, the project director of the Kuala Lumpur-based
Global Expositions (M) Sdn. Bhd., told The Jakarta Post during a
break in yesterday's news meeting that regulations over safety
and fire protection are needed to regulate the developments of
high rise buildings.

"People cannot simply build any building," Lim said.

Other speakers at yesterday's press conference included John
Kemur, the president of PT Puri Temu Reka, Maj. Gen. (ret)
Sutjipno, the chairman of the Indonesian Association of Self-
Initiatives Security Professionals (APSSI), and Marthin Palinh,
the secretary general of the Indonesia Association of Fire
Protection (Askari).

All of the groups will jointly conduct a seminar cum
exhibition with the theme "Fire Protection Safety and Security"
on Nov. 23-24 at the Jakarta Convention Center. (09)