Fire-conscious communities in Jambi unite to extinguish blaze and prevent spread

As soon as the fire grew, we immediately went down to extinguish it. Thankfully, within less than two hours the fire was out, and only cooling down remained, said Suyanto, head of Pulo Tigo hamlet in Seponjen Village, at the location on Tuesday night (25/8).

Suyanto said the fire was first spotted in an empty land area at around 6.30 p.m. Western Indonesia Time on Tuesday (25/8). Upon learning of it, he immediately urged local residents to move and carry out firefighting efforts.

With the help of the fire-conscious community (MPA), together with personnel from the Indonesian National Armed Forces, the National Police and Manggala Agni, as well as adequate equipment support, the fire was brought under control within two hours.

According to him, water canals around the area greatly helped the firefighting machines supply water, so the flames were tamed before spreading to residents’ plantations.

As of now, the cause of the fire on the 10-hectare empty land in RT 06 remains unknown.

We saw a fire spot, then we urged our friends to work together. Now the cooling process is underway, he said.

Previously, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni called on the public and certain parties not to burn land deliberately. He also confirmed that the government is preparing fire handling measures in the form of weather modification operations scheduled to take place from 27 to 30 August.