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.