Fire dept opposes underground market plan

Fire dept opposes underground market plan

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city fire department is worried by city-owned market operator
Pasar Jaya's plan to develop a seven-story underground building
at Block A of Tanah Abang market, Central Jakarta, which was
destroyed by fire in February this year.

Department head Johnny Pangaribuan told the media on Tuesday
that he did not agree with such construction as it would be very
difficult to extinguish a fire if one occurred in such a
building.

Johnny cited as an example how difficult it was to extinguish
the fire in the parking lot after the bomb blast at the Jakarta
Stock Exchange, South Jakarta, in 2000, although the fire was
only in the upper basement level.

"It was the toughest fire we had to deal with in the city. I
daren't imagine what would happen if there were a fire seven
floors below ground level," he said.

He said that smoke would not only cause more casualties, but
also great difficulty for firefighters, because the oxygen in
their cylinders would run out after 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

"Usually, when fighting a fire, it takes much longer," Johnny
added.

If an underground building ultimately was to be chosen, he
stressed the need for sophisticated fire prevention systems and
extinguishers, including fire sprinklers, alarms, good emergency
exit guidance, and, most important of all, an adequate exhaust
system.

"Exhaust fans are very important as they must pump the smoke
from the building while the fire is still burning," Johnny said.

He revealed his department lacked facilities, as the total of
890 hydrants across the city was far from the ideal 20,000.

He also complained about his department's human resources, as
61 percent of the 2,520 personnel were around 45 years old and
the remaining 39 percent were mostly over 30.

Meanwhile, City Business Bureau head Sukri Bey said that
executives of PD Pasar Jaya, led by president director Prabowo
Soenirman, had beforehand shown the design for Tanah Abang market
reconstruction to Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo.

Apart from the underground structure, Sukri said PD Pasar Jaya
also planned to erect a four-story to seven-story building in
Block A of the market.

"It is still in the form of a proposal that needs more
comprehensive study," Sukri told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

PD Pasar Jaya president Prabowo was unavailable for comment on
Tuesday but previously had said that he needed some Rp 400
billion (US$48.19 million) to reconstruct Block A of the market,
deemed to be the largest textile market in Southeast Asia.

He said that reconstruction would begin late this year or
early next year and would be completed within 14 months to 16
months.

The market comprised six blocks with a total 7,594 kiosks
before the fire destroyed 2,420 of them, mostly in Block A, on
Feb. 19 this year.