Fires this year cost 75 lives, Rp 104.7b losses

JAKARTA (JP): The city this year witnessed as many as 789 fires that left 75 people dead, 28,918 homeless and caused Rp 104.7 billion in material losses, an official said on Wednesday.

Johny Pangaribuan, a senior official at the Jakarta fire agency, said that almost half of the blazes, excluding the fires that gutted hundreds of shops, buildings and public facilities during a series of riots here, were caused by electrical short circuits.

"Causes of 294 fires were unknown, 74 were started by stove explosions, 44 by burning cigarettes and five by kerosene lamps," Johny said.

Last year, he said, the city recorded 1,175 fires which caused 40 fatalities, including a fireman, and Rp 101.65 billion in material losses.

This year's fires, he said, occurred mostly at night and damaged or destroyed 5,856 homes, 142 shopping complexes, 62 factories and office complexes, 46 vehicles and 78 public facilities.

In comparison, the fires that swept across Jakarta during the May riots killed over 1,000 people and gutted some 6,000 buildings and public facilities. Total losses were estimated at Rp 2.5 trillion.

Fires also claimed lives, damaged and destroyed businesses, public facilities, churches and Catholic schools during two separate incidents in the capital on Nov. 13 and Nov. 22.

Most of Jakarta's fires this year took place in the western part of the city, Johny said.

"Out of all the fires, 146 took place in West Jakarta, 139 in East Jakarta, 136 in both North Jakarta and South Jakarta and 115 in Central Jakarta," he explained.

Four of the biggest fires took place on Jl. Kartini and Jl. Pegangsaan in Central Jakarta and Jl. Lodan in North Jakarta.

According to Johny, many of the fires, particularly in high- rise buildings, could not be put out immediately because property owners were negligent in adopting standard fire safety systems.

"Of some 800 buildings here, between 50 to 60 percent of them still did not have proper fire safety systems on their properties."

"They also failed to hold fire drills, which teach people safety procedures during a fire," he said.

Another serious problem faced by Jakarta firemen was the property renovations carried out by many residents without consideration of proper fire safety systems.

"The owners, for instance, just hired a contractor to move their shop-house into a discotheque without making any changes to the building's fire safety system," Johny said.

In general, most Jakartans were also still unaware of the proper usage of fire safety equipment.

"Strong evidence of this fact is that many building owners do not invest their money in adequate fire safety systems. While those who already owned the devices did not bother with fire drills," he said.

These building owners adopted such an attitude "because they knew their buildings were insured," Johny said.

Therefore, he urged all Jakartans, particularly owners of skyscrapers, to equip their property with proper fire safety systems and equipment.

The agency, he said, is also opened for consultation and information on fire safety procedures and facilities.

Those interested can telephone the office at 344-1309 or 344- 7507. (ylt)