How the Cikarang Bus Depot Fire Started, Leaving 50 Buses Burnt
A fire broke out at the PO Sinar Jaya bus depot on Jalan Jarakosta, Sukadanau Village, Cikarang Barat, West Java, resulting in 50 buses being burnt. Firefighters have revealed how the fire initially started.
“The first information came from the security guard, and we set off. When we spoke to the security guard, he said that when he was carrying out his checks or patrol, the fire was already large in the middle section. In the middle of the bus parking area,” said Bohir, Platoon 3 Commander of the Bekasi Regency Fire and Rescue Service, when contacted on Tuesday (18/8/2026).
The source of the fire is not yet known. However, according to the security guard’s account, the fire suddenly grew and engulfed the buses at the location. Bohir said the buses that caught fire were no longer fit for operation.
“The buses that burnt were buses that were no longer operating or no longer roadworthy,” he said.
Bohir revealed that his team encountered difficulties during the firefighting process, one of which was having to draw water from Kalimalang. The firefighting operation lasted approximately five hours.
“For the firefighting, we split access into two, because next to it there is a residential area. There is only a boundary fence, but the heat radiation was very intense. So residents were also panicking, and we split into two directions for the firefighting. Inside the site and next to the residential area. The obstacle was that the water source was quite far, so we had to draw water from Kalimalang,” he explained.
According to Antara, the fire incident report was received by officers on Tuesday (18/8) at 01.45 WIB and was immediately followed up by dispatching a firefighting team to the scene. Officers arrived at the location at 02.00 WIB and quickly began extinguishing the fire.
The fire affected a bus depot area of 800 square metres. The large number of vehicles at the location caused the fire to spread rapidly and threaten other buses parked in the area.
The fire was eventually extinguished, although dozens of buses at the scene could not be saved. Teams from Mako Cibitung, South Cikarang Sector, North Cikarang Sector, Pemda Sector, and Sukatani Sector took part in the firefighting operation.
After the fire was extinguished, officers continued with a cooling process to ensure the fire would not reignite. There has been no official report on the material losses caused by the incident.
“The fire originated from the bus depot. A total of 50 buses that were no longer in operation were reported burnt in the incident,” said Bekasi Regency Fire and Rescue Service Head Adeng Hudaya in Cikarang, as reported by Antara on Tuesday (18/8).