Fire guts 30 houses in North Jakarta

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)