Fire destroys automobile repair shop

JAKARTA: Fire razed an automobile repair shop on Jl. Saharjo Raya, South Jakarta, on Friday, destroying a number of cars that were waiting to be repaired.

According to a South Jakarta fire department official, Abdul Fakar, the fire occurred at 1:20 p.m. and after deploying 13 firefighter units the fire was extinguished at 3:30 p.m., thus preventing it from spreading to other buildings.

The cause of fire is still under investigation, but the fire department speculated that it was caused by an electric short circuit.

"We had to call for reinforcements from the East Jakarta firefighters unit as there were strong winds, which made the fire spread quickly and water hydrants were scarce," Abdul said.--JP