Fire leaves 300 homeless

JAKARTA (JP): A fire gutted 100 houses in the densely- populated area of Taman Sari in West Jakarta yesterday afternoon, leaving 300 people homeless.

There were no fatalities reported.

Locals estimated a total material loss as high as Rp 600 million (US$164,835).

The fire was believed to have been initially caused by an exploding stove at one of the residents' houses on Jl. Thalib III, said Andi Juwana from the West Jakarta fire agency.

The fire, he said, started at around 11 a.m. and could only be extinguished three hours later due to a lack of water sources and the narrow access to the site, said Andi.

Out of the 29 fire units dispatched to the site, only 20 of them were able to finally reach the area, he said.

"It is a densely populated area and Jl. Thalib is a narrow alley," he said.

He, however, said that participation by the residents to put out the fire was highly appreciated even though they were also anxious about their property and loved-ones.

"There were no unusual technical constraints at all because problems like water shortage and panicked residents are common things in such an incident," he said.

He said that the case has already been reported to the Taman Sari Police Subprecinct for further investigation. (04)