Highlights of law on safety in public places

JAKARTA (JP): Safety measures for public places in the capital are dealt with in City Bylaw No. 3 of 1992 on Fire Prevention.

The bylaw also contains technical guidelines regarding the installation of fire equipment and emergency facilities. It sets a maximum fine of a mere Rp 50,000 and/or three months in jail for the most serious offenses.

Like many other laws, it is poorly enforced.

The following are the highlights of the law, which has 19 chapters and 164 articles.

* All citizens are required to be actively involved in fire prevention.

* All buildings and houses shall be accessible to fire engines.

* Housing complexes and offices shall be provided with water hydrants, cisterns or excavated wells. A hydrant's minimum capacity must be 1,000 liters per minute.

* Each excavated well or cistern must contain at least 10,000 liters of water.

* Every indoor parking lot is required to have gas or chemical fire extinguishers. Every open-air parking lot of 300 square meters in size must be provided with at least two light fire extinguishers.

* Every residential complex or building shall have public communications facilities which can be used at any time in case of emergency.

* Parking, speed ramps and gates are prohibited on roads within residential complexes as they may hamper fire engines in case of fire.

* Buildings shall be equipped with fire extinguishers.

* Underground spaces, enclosed spaces and fire escapes shall be provided with ventilation to prevent suffocation in case of fire.

* Multistory buildings are required to have automatic water sprinklers.

According to the laws on fire-safety management, one hydrant should be placed every 200 meters. But data from the Fire Department shows that there are only 742 hydrants throughout the whole of Jakarta, which covers an area of 650 square kilometers.

"And only 400 to 500 of these are in good shape," fire chief Suharso says. (ind)