Fire at Shop-Houses in Tambora Spreads to Destroy Dozens of Homes
A fire in Tambora, West Jakarta destroyed shop-houses and dozens of residential homes. Hundreds of people were affected by the blaze.
“The number of people affected by the fire is 58 households, totalling 213 people,” said Ahmad Saiful Kahfi, operations chief of the West Jakarta Fire and Rescue Department, on Friday, 13 March 2026.
The affected residents came from two neighbourhood zones: RT 10 and RT 11. The fire originated from a shop-house on Jalan Tanah Sereal, RT 11, RW 9, in Tanah Sereal, Tambora, West Jakarta.
The estimated area burned was approximately 1,000 square metres. Residents discovered the fire when they saw garment factory workers running for help to extinguish the flames.
“Residents playing carom witnessed garment factory workers running for help to try to extinguish the fire that was burning the sewing machine on the first floor, but the fire could not be suppressed and grew larger, spreading to the third floor,” Kahfi stated.
The fire was reported to the fire department at 02.34 WIB. Officers arrived at the scene and began extinguishing operations at 02.42 WIB.
The fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical short circuit in the garment factory machine in the shop-house. The Jakarta Regional Disaster Management Agency noted that the fire affected 25 homes and 200 residents from 20 households.
“The suspected cause of the fire is an electrical short circuit in the garment sewing machine,” said M Yohan, head of the Jakarta Regional Disaster Management Agency’s data and information centre.
Five officers and two residents were injured in the fire. Affected residents temporarily sheltered at a prayer house on Jalan Tanah Sereal XII Gang Unitas, Tambora.
“The affected objects include a home-based garment factory, residential homes, and a small Tegal-style eatery,” Yohan said.
The five officers, identified as KSD (40), RDB (38), SFA (35), ADT (40), and SYD, sustained injuries from building rubble, difficulty breathing during fire operations, and one fell from a ladder.
Two residents, identified as ANS (17) and SBL (16), suffered foot injuries and experienced difficulty breathing during the fire.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control at 03.30 WIB, followed by cooling operations until 08.42 WIB. Officers continued clearing burnt material from inside the garment factory shop-house.
The material clearance was conducted to ensure the fire was completely extinguished and prevent re-ignition. Officers faced challenges from building debris covering the burnt materials inside the shop-house.