Fire engulfs 10 houses

JAKARTA: Around 10 houses in the Karet Kuningan area of South Jakarta were gutted by fire around Friday noon, but there were no reports of casualties.

South Jakarta Fire Department sent 10 firefighter units but has yet to determine the cause of the fire, which occurred at 11:30 a.m.

The fire was finally extinguished at around 3 p.m., with residents complaining that firefighters had not responded quickly enough as there were only four fire engines at the location by 12:45 p.m.

"The houses were homestays, and the leaseholders were mostly out of town on vacation," Lambri Atmaja, one staff member at South Jakarta Fire Department told The Jakarta Post.

"We tried to get there as soon as we could," he said, in response to the complaints voiced by residents. --JP