Fire safety checks ordered

Fire safety checks ordered

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

How safe are buildings in the city?
Only after a firefighter was killed in a fire engulfing Blok M
market in South Jakarta on Monday did the Jakarta administration
order a check on buildings in the city to ensure they meet fire
safety requirements.

"I have instructed the City Construction Supervision and
Regulation Agency (PPB) to check fire safety systems at
buildings, especially in tall ones, and the City Fire Department
to check fire extinguishers," Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo said on
Tuesday.

He acknowledged that Monday's fire, which originated from a
gold workshop in the market, quickly spread to nearby shops amid
the absence of fire-resistant materials in the structure of the
building.

He acknowledged that PPB lacked knowledge about checking
whether developers had met requirements to equip tall buildings
with standard fire safety equipment as the agency focused more on
issuing building permits.

Fauzi said the new Block A building at Tanah Abang market,
Central Jakarta, was one among the few tall buildings equipped
with fire safety equipment.

The original block in the textile market burned down in
February 2003, and smoldered for 10 days.

For years the fire department has warned that most of the
city's 1,000 tall buildings were deathtraps as only 35 percent of
the building managements regularly maintained their fire safety
equipment.

According to City Bylaw No. 3/1992 on fire prevention, all
tall buildings must have emergency exits. It also stipulates that
doors for emergency exits must open outward and must be made of
fireproof material.

Tall buildings must have their own fire hoses, fire alarms,
sprinklers and portable fire extinguishers, the bylaw stipulates.

"Most building managements fail to keep their fire exits
clear ... Instead, they use the areas in front of the exits for
storage," head of the department, Johnny Pangaribuan, said.

Around 700 fires break out in the city every year, with short
circuits being the most frequent cause of fire.

The administration also called on Tuesday on building
managements to carry out fire drills to avoid large numbers of
fatalities and injury in actual fires.

In another development on Monday's fire, Governor Sutiyoso
asserted that his administration would guarantee that the vendors
would get their shops back. "We will rebuild the market."

Separately, city market operator PD Pasar Jaya talked the
traders into moving to temporary premises.

"We will arrange for them to do business in the surrounding
area in temporary shelters. It is unlikely that we will ask them
to pay for the shelters," said Pasar Jaya president director
Prabowo Sunirman, adding that the vendors would have to trade at
the temporary shelters for at least a year before the planned
commercial center was completed.

Because of the fire, Pasar Jaya claimed to have lost a monthly
income of Rp 600 million from the market and another Rp 10
billion in assets.

Prabowo added that the company had donated money to the family
of the late firefighter Subandi.(003)

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Fatal fires in 2005

Date Place Victims/damage

April 10 Jl. Utan Panjang, Kemayoran, C.Jakarta three fatalities, 120 houses burned
April 21 Manggis market, Setiabudi, C. Jakarta two fatalities, five kiosks burned
May 14 Kali Anyar, Tambora, W. Jakarta five fatalities, 34 houses burned
June 18 Jl. Jaksa, C. Jakarta 10 injured, 60 houses burned

From media reports