Fire razes office, houses

BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan: Fire razed several office buildings and houses in the Kertak Baru Ilir subdistrict on Wednesday.

There were no casualties in the fire which caused material losses of several hundred million rupiah, Antara reported.

The fire was believed to have started in a rented room in one of the houses and quickly spread to the surrounding crowded marketplaces and residential areas.

Strong winds made the job of extinguishing the fire even more difficult and incited panic.

The fire started at around 1:30 p.m. and was put out after an hour by the fire brigade, with the help of local residents. (pwn)