Family dies in fire with memento on the Net

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Darmawan Supratisto, 36, had long dreamed of having a website dedicated to his family. His dream, indeed, came true on Friday with the launch of www.supratisto.com on the Internet.

But Darmawan and his family never lived to see it.

All four members of the family and two housemaids were killed in an inferno that entrapped them in a rented house in the Bumi Harapan Permai housing complex in Kramatjati, East Jakarta, early Friday morning.

Darmawan, his wife Yetti Aryani, 36, and their two children, Ganis Yusuf Aristo, 10, and Viganya Aisyah Aristo, 5, were discovered dead in the family lounge, locked in one last embrace. The two housemaids, Siti, 16, and Susilowati, 40, were found dead in the kitchen.

The tragedy took place only a few hours prior to the launching of the website.

"I was shocked when I heard the terrible news. Yesterday, Darmawan and I were talking on the phone about details of the launch of the family's private homepage today," PT Sisfo Indonesia chief executive officer Nirwan Harahap said.

Nirwan quoted Darmawan as saying: "I just wish the information about my family and career could be accessed on the Internet by those who need it."

Once news of the tragedy spread, the website's guest book was filled with sympathy messages and condolences.

On the website, Darmawan, who was the director of investment firm PT Permodalan Nasional Madani Investment, displays the family members' photographs and information.

Eyewitnesses suspected the fire began on the second floor of the two-story house.

Panicked occupants had attempted to break the windows to gain access but iron bars blocked their way.

"We tried to help them but there were these iron bars. They (the family) could not find the keys ... The burning roof collapsed on them," said Abdul Rahman, a security guard in the housing complex.

Eight fire trucks were deployed, with firefighters extinguishing the fire an hour later.

Police alleged the fire was caused by a short circuit.

The family were living in the rented house because their own house, directly opposite the rented house, was under renovation.

The family were buried in one plot at the Tanjung Barat cemetery, South Jakarta. Siti was buried next to them. Susilowati's remains were taken by her family for burial in Semper, North Jakarta.

On Nov. 8, six people were killed in a fire that razed a house in the Attorney General's Office (AGO) housing complex in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta. A toddler miraculously survived in the inferno.