Fire razes 17 flower shops

JAKARTA: At least 17 flower shops on Jl. Barito and Jl. Mahakam II were burned to the ground on Monday when a fire, allegedly caused by a short circuit, broke out at one of the shops and spread quickly to others.

The fire began at 6 a.m. and was able to be extinguished at 11:30 a.m., when six fire trucks with dozens of firefighters arrived.

There were no casualties in the blaze.

"I think the fire came from one of the shops. Our earlier examination concludes that the fire was caused by a short circuit," said Edi Wahyudi, one of the firefighters.

The fire also caused a heavy traffic jam along the two roads as local residents came to watch the incident. --JP