Fire destroys 20 houses

JAKARTA (JP): Two fires destroyed 20 houses, six workers' boarding houses and two construction offices in Central Jakarta in the past two days. No fatalities have been reported.

Central Jakarta Police Chief Lt. Col. M. Ibrahim said the first fire started at 3:30 a.m. yesterday and ravaged 20 residents' houses on Jl. Pintu Air, Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta.

"The losses have yet to be calculated. The fire was caused by an oil stove explosion in one of the houses," Ibrahim said.

Eight fire engines of Central Jakarta Fire Brigade put out the fire about an hour later.

Ibrahim said the firefighters had difficulty reaching the fire because the fire engines were too wide for the alleys leading to the scene.

The fire was about 500 meters away from Harco Plaza and its neighboring King Plaza where about 300 shops were destroyed in a fire on Jan. 27, which caused material losses of billions of rupiah.

The second fire destroyed six workers' boarding houses and two construction offices on Jl. Benyamin Sueb, Kemayoran, Central Sunday. "Nobody was killed in the fire and losses are still being calculated."

He said the police believed the fire, which started at 9:30 p.m., was caused by a mosquito coil in one of the boarding houses.

The fire the spread quickly to neighboring boarding houses and gutted the site offices of PT Duta Anggada and PT Elok Kemayoran.

The two construction firms are building an apartment complex called Puri Asri Apartments. (jun)