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