Fire at Karawang BPN Office on Wednesday Night, Possibly Sparked by an Explosion

A fire broke out at the office of the Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) in Karawang regency, West Java, at around 9.30pm on Wednesday (14 October). Flames rose from the rear of the building’s main section.

Eka, 30, a Karawang resident, said he heard an explosion and saw a plume of black smoke coming from the BPN office before the fire started. He was passing along Jalan Jenderal Ahmad Yani when the incident occurred.

“I had just finished taking an online motorcycle taxi passenger and happened to be going home this way. At first there was something like an explosion, then black smoke appeared above the building. People gathered, and not long after that flames appeared,” Eka told detikJabar.

Several fire engines had been sent to the scene to tackle the blaze. “It’s still burning, but five fire engines have arrived. Residents are also helping to look for water,” he said.

DetikJabar attempted to contact the Firefighting and Rescue Division of the Karawang Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency and the Karawang ATR/BPN public relations office, but the authorities had not responded by the time the report was published.