Fire guts Superindo grocery store

TANGERANG: The police questioned four people on Monday over the fire which gutted Superindo grocery store in Pamulang district, Tangerang, earlier that day. No fatalities were reported.

Pamulang subprecinct Police chief Adj. Comr. Hartono said that the four -- two security guards employed at the store and two vendors of a nearby food stall -- were questioned as witnesses.

"A team from the National Police's Central Forensics Laboratory has investigated the cause of the fire. But witnesses said that the fire started from the American-fastfood restaurant located at the back of the building," he said.

The fire, suspected to have been caused by arson, started at around 4 a.m. Ten fire trucks were dispatched to the scene but by 2 p.m only the smoldering remains of the store were left. Ten policemen were seen guarding the site, pending further forensic investigations set for Tuesday.

An official of Tangerang regency's fire department, Sudrajat, said that his men took about 10 hours to extinguish the fire because there were no fire hydrants nor other fire-fighting equipment at the grocery store. --JP