Fire in the city: Blue Knights' blues

The Jakarta Fire Department has warned about a possible increase in fires across the capital. A total of 566 fires have already broken out in the first half of this year, compared to a total of 837 fires in 2002. The Jakarta Post's Zakki Hakim spent several days with the department to report on the condition of its men and facilities, and the possible budget cut by the city administration.

Thick smoke and searing heat are not the only foes for the Jakarta Fire Department, whose firefighters are known as the "Blue Knights" -- for their uniform and their job of helping people.

The knights face a greater threat from the city administration, which plans to cut the department's annual budget, and from city residents, who are mostly uneducated and have no clue as to how firemen work.

The administration has proposed to slash the department's 2003 budget for fire prevention and fire fighting from Rp 201.511 billion (US$23.70 million) to Rp 184.33 billion.

The latest data shows that for a capital city with an area of 661.52 square kilometers, of which 53 of 267 subdistricts are prone to fires, the Jakarta Fire Department has very limited resources.

Johnny Pangaribuan, chief of the Jakarta Fire Department, said his department was in a dire condition, although it was not yet in a state of emergency.

The department faces problems both internal and external, in relation to other institutions and to the general public.

Firefighters stress that the real problem, more often than not, always relates to the public -- from those living in slums to those who own high-rise buildings.

"The people have a very poor understanding of safety, but when an accident happens, they tend to blame us," said Johnny.

Idrus Paddai, chief of the Central Jakarta Fire Department, supported the statement.

"People in the slums live very close to each other and they use highly combustible materials to build their houses," he said, so that when a fire broke out, it would immediately spread and burn down several houses.

Idrus said that up to 80 percent of fires in slums were caused by carelessness in handling electricity and electrical appliances.

"They often tap electricity directly from the power line. It's very dangerous," he said.

The residents' hostility is another problem.

Many residents panic during a fire and forcefully try to take over the hoses from the firefighters who arrive at the scene. Sometimes they even take over the fire trucks, which jeopardize the firemen.

"At times, residents have even put a sickle to our men's necks," said Idrus.

In the end, when the blaze has grown too large and it is too late, the residents turn to the firemen for help -- but when the firemen fail, they are left to carry the blame.

In a recent fire in a slum in Karet Tengsin, Central Jakarta, the residents attacked a fireman and vandalized a fire truck. The firemen did not fight back, and the fire department simply reported the incident to the police.

Johnny said that he had specifically ordered his men not to react to any hostility, and instead to focus on extinguishing the fire and let the law deal with it later.

While slum residents are usually hostile, firefighters often meet with negligence when dealing with building owners, he said.

A recent survey of 212 out of some 900 high-rise buildings across the city showed that 46 percent did not meet the minimum safety standards.

"They have the facilities, but they are not well-maintained. When the time comes, something bad will certainly happen," Johnny said, shrugging.

He added that the city had at least 600 entertainment centers, of which 70 percent were substandard in terms of safety.

While a harsher regulation might be adequate in forcing building owners, slum residents or people living in densely populated areas to pay more attention on their own safety, Johnny said he meant to keep campaigning the safety issue.

"If the residents still don't pay attention to their own safety, it doesn't matter how advanced the fire department is," he said.

The fire department estimates that it will achieve the ideal standard of equipment and number of staff in 25 years.

The first step is to ensure that firefighters can reach the scene within 10 minutes at the latest in this city of eight million people.

To achieve this, the department needs 224 fire stations for every 30,000 residents, each with two hose trucks, and another 37 district stations to cover every 200,000 residents.

Each district should have at least two hose trucks, one ladder truck, two motorcycles, one ambulance, one rescue truck, one command vehicle and one special utility car depending on the characteristics of the covered area.

Despite the lack of equipment, the department also faces a chronic staffing problem, as most of the 2,520 active firefighters are over 45 years old. The government, through its zero growth policy, has banned the recruitment of any additional civil servants, including new firefighters.

Currently, 69 percent of the active fire-fighting force are over 45, meaning that 1,739 firemen will retire in the next five to 10 years.

Johnny implied that the condition of human resources would significantly lower the firefighters' performance and ultimately, it was the residents who would suffer.

To the department's relief, the administration has just recently approved the recruitment of 500 new firemen on a contract basis.

"At the moment, we need about 4,500 new recruits, but considering our position, 500 would serve very well," Johnny said.

The lack of human resources has already become a real problem for firefighters in the field.

A fire truck should be operated by a team of at least six, but in actuality, only three firemen are available per truck, causing inevitable problems, such as the hostile takeover by residents.

Johnny said the fire department could overcome its problems -- as long as it had the full cooperation of millions of residents.

In the end, therefore, the responsibility in fire fighting lays with residents, who should take precautions and know the steps to take to keep fires from getting too big.

At the same time, residents should call the fire department by dialing 113.

"We would come anytime, anywhere, even if the fire has already been extinguished," said Johnny.

In the meantime, the fire department constantly urges residents to be wise, and to remember that the best -- and the most cost-effective -- way to fight a fire is by taking preventive action.