Fire in Gambir, Central Jakarta: 114 Homes Destroyed, 880 People Affected

A fire that struck a residential area on Jalan Batu Ceper 8, Kebon Kelapa Urban Village, Gambir District, Central Jakarta, destroyed 114 homes and affected 880 people.

“Based on preliminary data collection from the sub-district, a total of 114 homes were affected, involving 310 family cards and 880 people,” said Syarifudin, Head of Operations at the Central Jakarta Fire and Rescue Service, to reporters on Monday (31/8).

The large number of homes destroyed was due to the extremely dense conditions of the settlement. In addition, the distance to water sources also hampered the firefighting effort.

“The obstacle was that the homes were densely packed, so the fire spread very quickly. Secondly, the water source was far away, so we had to lay hoses over quite a long distance,” he said.

Syarifudin confirmed that there were no fatalities in the fire. However, two firefighters had to be evacuated during the firefighting operation.

“It was our own personnel who were affected by the very thick smoke. They fought on and became exhausted,” he said.

“In the end, one was taken to hospital, while the other is, thank God, safe,” he continued.

Earlier, the fire broke out in the residential area on Jalan Batu Ceper 8, Kebon Kelapa Urban Village, Gambir District, Central Jakarta, on Monday (31/8). The fire was reported to the fire service at 1.40 p.m. Western Indonesia Time.

“The object was a semi-permanent residential building,” according to data from the Fire Service Command Centre.

A total of 29 fire engines and 135 personnel were deployed to the scene to extinguish the blaze. The firefighting operation began at 1.46 p.m. and was followed by a cooling-down process at 4.17 p.m.