Firefighters Evacuate 53 People from Teluk Intan Apartment Fire

Firefighters from the North Jakarta and Thousand Islands Fire and Rescue Service (Gulkarmat) evacuated 53 people trapped in their rooms during a fire at the Teluk Intan Apartment on Jalan Teluk Intan, Pejagalan, Penjaringan District, on Sunday night.

“The object that caught fire was an electrical panel on the 8th floor, after which the flames spread to the 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th floors of the apartment,” said Gulkarmat Operations Chief Gatot Sulaeman in Jakarta on Sunday.

He stated that the firefighting operation was successfully completed safely, and officers evacuated 53 people trapped in the building without any casualties. The evacuees included 21 men, 24 adult women, seven children, and one elderly person.

“The fire is suspected to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, with estimated losses reaching Rp1.5 billion,” he added.

According to witness accounts, the fire originated from a short circuit in an electrical panel on the 8th floor. Apartment management had attempted to extinguish the flames using portable fire extinguishers, but were unsuccessful.

The fire spread from the 7th floor to several other levels, including the 5th, 6th, 9th, and 10th floors.

Local residents, upon seeing thick smoke, contacted the fire department to extinguish the blaze. “We deployed 16 fire engines with 80 personnel to battle the flames,” said Sulaeman.

Firefighting efforts began at 18:45 WIB, with officers immediately working to contain the fire and perform cooling operations. “The fire was successfully extinguished at 20:38 WIB, and residents were also evacuated. Thankfully, there were no fatalities in this incident,” he concluded.