Fire destroys street cafes

JAKARTA (JP): A fire gutted a street cafe belonging to movie and television star Roy Marten in the parking lot of the National Monument park in Central Jakarta on Thursday evening.

The fire that engulfed the Bale-bale Roy Marten cafe, designed to house hundreds of small street stalls, is thought to have started at about 3:45 p.m., on the roof of stand number 61, which was made of bamboo and dried coconut leaves.

No fatalities were reported and material losses had not been estimated, as the actor could not be reached for comment.

The fire burned the entire roof and a large part of the cafe building. It also damaged parts of the other neighboring cafes, which were made of plastic sheet.

No one at the scene the source of the fire, Antara reported.

"The fire was suddenly seen on the roof," a witness said.

Security guards stationed at the nearby water fountain on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat rushed to the site, threw water on the flames and stopped it spreading by dismantling some of the neighboring street cafes, according to witnesses.

The fire brigade arrived 15 minutes later to fully extinguish the blaze.

The street cafe site was launched by Governor Sutiyoso in the middle of 1998 to allow people from all walks of life, including artists and university students, to run a small business for extra income during this time of hardship. (bsr)