Hundreds of kiosks at Senen market gutted by fire

Hundreds of kiosks at Senen market gutted by fire

Two firefighters (photo left) try hard to put out a large fire at
Senen market, Central Jakarta.

The fire destroyed almost all of the 500 semi-permanent kiosks
in the electronics center at Block IV of Senen market, late on
Sunday afternoon.

There were no reports of casualties or fatalities in the fire.

A spokesman of Central Jakarta fire department, Salman, said
22 fire engines from all municipalities were deployed to put out
the fire. As of 9 p.m. on Sunday flames from the fire could still
be observed.

Witnesses said the fire broke out at 6:45 p.m. The police have
yet to discover the cause of the fire and guarded the complex to
avoid looters.

However, kiosk owners suspected arson because the rental term
of the area had expired in December and they had been asked to
move to the second floor of Block V nearby because block IV would
be replaced by a new building.

One of the kiosk owners, Rina, claimed to be the last person
to leave the area at around 6 p.m. She had smelled gasoline fumes
from the middle of the area.

The shopping complex is usually closed to visitors at around 5
p.m. every day. When closed, the gate is usually locked, while
the electrical power is turned off.

The area is close to Senen bus terminal and has only one exit,
which hindered the firemen in their efforts to put out the fire
from the other side of the site.

Jakarta is said to be vulnerable to fires due to its poor fire
awareness and city planning. During the last three weeks alone,
at least 52 fires were reported, mostly in slum areas, which
killed at least 12 people. -- JP