Fires raze homes, four killed

Fires raze homes, four killed

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Amid the prolonged dry season buffeted by high temperatures,
two fires razed dozens of homes on Monday in two separate areas
in East and Central Jakarta. Four fatalities were reported,
including an eight-month-old baby.

The first fire destroyed a home in Cakung, East Jakarta right
after midnight or early on Monday morning.

Fara, an eight-month-old baby along with three other adult
occupants, Gendi, 20, Agung, 43, and Mimin, 60, were trapped and
burned to death at the scene. Their bodies were taken to Cipto
Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta. Two other
occupants, Gilang and Arya managed to escape.

Police were still investigating the cause of the fire.

The fire was the third fire in Greater Jakarta which has
claimed lives this year. In addition to those casualties, seven
people have died during fires since the new year.

A family of three died in a fire which gutted a house in
Kampung Sewan Kebon, Neglasari, Tangerang, while another fire
razed a silk-screening plant in Griya Harapan Permai, Bekasi
resulting in the deaths of four employees.

City fire brigade agency reported that this month alone 38
fires were reported across the capital.

Meanwhile, a massive blaze also devastated dozens of homes on
Monday in Kebon Melati, behind Hotel Indonesia in Central
Jakarta, which were mostly made of wooden materials.

The fire spread rapidly fanned by strong winds and combustible
materials, razing more than 30 houses in neighborhood units 01,
02 and 03 and leaving dozens of families homeless.

The fire started from a boarding house owned by a resident
named Slamet.

Eyewitness Suhermanto who is also head of neighborhood unit 01
said the fire was possibly caused by a kerosene stove left
unattended inside a room on the second floor of the house.

"The house was left unlocked and empty when I entered the
premises. Seeing that the fire had almost burned the whole
building, I ran out to seek help. Then, I heard a blast possibly
from the exploding stove," said Suhermanto.

Only a few residents were at home when the fire razed the area
as most of the inhabitants were at work. Few people managed to
save their belongings.

"I woke up when I saw thick, dark smoke coming out of the
second floor. It was about 11 o'clock. But, the fire was too huge
to put out," sighed another eyewitness, Eni Saman whose house was
totally destroyed by the fire. Eni only managed to save her
children. All her belongings were destroyed in the fire.

Dozens of residents desperately attempted to extinguish the
blaze with plastic buckets before the firefighters arrived at the
scene.

Panicking residents clashed with firefighters due to late
arrival of the fire trucks. Fortunately, some police officers
calmed them down.

Head of the city firefighter brigade's operational division, M
Ishak said that 21 fire trucks had been used to put out the fire.

Narrow access to the crowded area, thick smoke, and the
strength of the blaze owing to the strong winds, hampered the
firefighters efforts to extinguish the blaze.

Amid the chaos, an unidentified man was mobbed by residents as
he was found attempting to steal their belongings.