Fire chief wants hydrants for housing
Fire chief wants hydrants for housing
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta, a city of 65,000 hectares with more
than nine million people and hundreds of housing complexes, has
only 361 fire hydrants.
The head of the fire department, Suharso, said yesterday
the number was too small to support fire engines at the scene of
a fire. "Ideally, one fire hydrant should be installed every 300
meters. Jakarta needs at least 600,000 hydrants," he said.
In an effort to increase the number of fire hydrants, Suharso
said he wanted developers to install fire hydrants in the housing
estates they build.
He said he would propose that the city administration make the
installation of fire hydrants one of the conditions to be met by
developers who apply for permits to start housing projects.
"In this way, the city will gradually have adequate fire
hydrants," he said.
He said the administration also lacks the money to install
hydrants, which cost around Rp 8 million each.
Jakarta has less land for housing complexes and developers
have gone to Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi in West Java to expand
their property businesses. Developers are only building
apartments in Jakarta.
According to gubernatorial decree No. 240, private developers
are obliged to build social facilities inside their projects such
as drainage systems and waterways, schools and houses of worship.
Suharso said that the lack of hydrants was one factor which
hampers fire brigades in controlling fires.
From January to October this year there were 568 fires which
claimed 11 lives and destroyed 5,771 houses. As many as 33 people
were injured in the fires which inflicted a total loss of Rp 40
billion.
Data provided by the fire department shows that from 1989 to
1994 there were 4,679 fires with material losses amounting to Rp
236 billion and about 100,000 people losing their homes.
Most of the fires were caused by short circuits, Suharso said.
He said that his subordinates faced various constraints, apart
from the lack of fire hydrants, when dealing with fires.
Traffic congestion is always a serious problem, he said.
"Our fire engines cannot arrive at fire locations on time
because they are caught in traffic jams. It seems that motorists
are reluctant to give way to fire trucks," he said.
Fire victims expect top priority from the fire fighters
because they do not know the standard procedures.
His office plans to publicize regional decree no. 3/1992 on
fire. The publishing of the standard procedures is aimed at
making the public aware of what firemen do at fires.
The city department has 2,620 firemen and 157 fire engines.
(yns)