Fire guts 30 houses in North Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Fire gutted 30 houses in Jembatan Batu slum area, Pinangsia subdistrict, North Jakarta, on the Islamic Day of Sacrifice yesterday.

There were no casualties.

Some 100 residents, mostly street vendors and office boys working at Mangga Dua Mall, North Jakarta, temporarily took shelter in the Aula building near the subdistrict office.

A North Jakarta Fire Department officer, Nadi, said the fire started at 11:45 a.m. and was extinguished by 1:15 p.m. Nine fire trucks were deployed.

"The fire could have been put out sooner had the fire hoses been concentrated on the spot where the fire blazed most (at the center) instead of being directed all over the place," he said.

"We still don't know how it started or from where in the Jembatan Batu area exactly... we are still looking into the matter," Nadi said.

A short circuit or stove explosion could have been the cause of the fire, he said.

A warehouse containing electricity cables and telegraph poles was also destroyed. (02)