Fires gut buildings

JAKARTA (JP): Two fires gutted a car workshop on Jl. Intan, in Cileduk and a restaurant on Jl. Mampang Prapatan Raya, in South Jakarta, yesterday. No fatalities were reported.

A police sergeant at the South Jakarta Police precinct said the owner of the workshop, Darta, suffered burns in the fire which started at about 2 a.m.

"It is believed that Darta forgot to extinguish his cigarette before he fell asleep," the sergeant said.

He said the cigarette fell into a drum of gasoline, causing the fire which then spread throughout the workshop.

The South Jakarta Fire Department deployed nine fire engines and extinguished the fire in two hours.

The second fire which destroyed the roof of the Safari Restaurant was probably caused by an electrical short circuit, the sergeant said.

He said the fire, which started at about 1 a.m., was extinguished by four fire engines in about an hour.

"The losses in both fire incidents have yet to be calculated," the sergeant said.

Also in South Jakarta, another fire destroyed a photo laboratory and an electronics shop on Jl. RS. Fatmawati, in Cilandak, Thursday. An electrical short circuit was believed to be the source of the fire which caused hundreds of millions of rupiah in material losses. (jun)