Fire devastates historical Pasar Gede in Surakarta

Fire devastates historical Pasar Gede in Surakarta

SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): Fire devastated Pasar Gede, the
oldest traditional market in Central Java in the early hours of
Friday morning, leaving more than 1,000 vendors jobless.

No fatalities were reported in the blaze, but the losses
resulting from the fire, which destroyed almost every building in
the market, were estimated to be around Rp 10 billion.

"The total losses are still being calculated. It is a shame to
lose such an historical building," Mayor Slamet Suryanto told
media at the scene of the incident.

The blaze reportedly started at round 1 a.m. and quickly
escalated, police said.

It took at least eight fire engines three hours to put out the
fire, thanks in part to the help of firefighters from the
neighboring towns of Sukoharjo, Karanganyar, Sragen, Boyolali and
Klaten.

"A brief investigation revealed that the fire was caused by
faulty wiring in a billiard center office located on the second
floor of the market," Surakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Robby
Kaligis said.

As of Friday afternoon the police and rescue teams from local
and PDI Perjuangan civilian guards were seen sifting through the
debris.

"So far we haven't found any fatalities in this case," Robby
said.

The market, built in the early 1930s with the help of a Dutch
architect, houses some 170 kiosks in its compound.

It was originally named Pasar Hardjonagoro by the sultanate
ruler Pakubuwono X.

Since then the market has been renovated several times without
changing its original structure and design.

Mayor Slamet said the first group of 500 vendors will be
relocated to the nearby Benteng Plaza parking lot in two weeks.

Fire also gutted the plaza and the mayoralty administration
office during riots that followed Megawati Soekarnoputri's loss
in the presidential election last October.

"We are still looking for investors as we do not have any
money to rebuild the market. We don't even have a budget to
renovate our office," Slamet said.

In the Bali capital of Denpasar, fire also razed the four-
story MA Department Store in the city's business center on Jl.
Diponegoro at dawn on Friday.

No fatalities were reported in the incident which was
estimated to have caused billions of rupiah in losses.

The store, which specialized in selling accessories and
clothing, had just undergone renovation.

Witnesses said the blaze started around 4 a.m. on the second
floor and quickly spread.

"The third floor had been recently renovated and the second
floor was still under reconstruction," said Lt. Col. Lukas
Gunawan, chief of Denpasar City Police.

Four fire engines managed to localize the blaze before putting
it out around 7 a.m. It was reported that firefighters
encountered difficulty in reaching the upper floors of the
building.

"We didn't have long enough ladders to reach the top floors,"
a fireman said.

Police have questioned several witnesses, including employees
and on-duty security guards, over the incident. But details on
the cause of the fire remain undisclosed. (har/zen/edt)