Fire in West Jakarta prompts Sudin Gulkarmat to deploy heavy equipment

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The West Jakarta Fire and Rescue Sub-Department (Sudin Gulkarmat Jakarta Barat) immediately deployed heavy equipment such as excavators to maximise the cooling process of a fire that struck a plastic warehouse on Jalan Peternakan Raya, Gang Semut, Kapuk, Cengkareng, West Jakarta (Jakbar). Head of Operations at Sudin Gulkarmat Jakarta Barat, Syaiful Kahfi, said the plastic material involved in the fire and the collapse of building debris hindered the cooling process. ‘There are a lot of stacked goods, so we are still on this. Because the fire involves plastic items, if we spray them it doesn’t reach down to the bottom,’ Syaiful said when contacted in Jakarta on Tuesday. Therefore, he said, heavy equipment needs to be brought in to dismantle the debris that is pressing on the plastic material, so that the spraying really reaches the base. He said they are coordinating with the building owner to promptly bring the heavy equipment to the scene. ‘We are coordinating with the building owner to prepare a beko (excavator), so it will be dismantled first, then we spray it. Use the beko to dismantle first, then we spray. If not, it will drag on, they will call us tomorrow, call us, like that,’ Syaiful said. In addition, the front yard of the warehouse is flooded with firefighting water and littered with rubble from collapsed structures. Meanwhile, the roof and walls on the side of the warehouse appear to have collapsed. At least 16 fire engines remain on standby at the scene. A Bronto Skylift fleet was deployed at the site to spray water from above onto the points of rubble and remaining plastic material. Several times the fire was extinguished and the smoke slowly faded, but it kept flaring again and producing thick black smoke plumes.