Inferno razes shops in Kebayoran Lama, Klender

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Massive fires on Thursday devastated over 200 semi-permanent kiosks in Kebayoran Lama market, South Jakarta, and three furniture shops on Jl. Pahlawan Revolusi in Klender, East Jakarta.

No fatalities were reported in the incident in Kebayoran Lama, but in Klender two people were rushed to the nearby Persahabatan hospital for injuries sustained in the fire.

The fire in Kebayoran Lama started at 4 a.m. when most kiosks were still closed, so the owners were unable to save their merchandise and stock.

"The fire was allegedly caused by a short circuit in one of the kiosks in the market," said Kebayoran Lama district head Fatahillah.

Witnesses said that the fire spread quickly due to a strong wind and combustible materials.

The South Jakarta Fire Department deployed 13 fire trucks to extinguish the blaze. However, they could not reach the center of the fire because of the narrow alleys in the market.

The police still do not have an estimate on the material losses of the fire.

The fire also forced Kebayoran Lama railway station to delay the arrivals of two commuter trains from Sudimara and Pondok Ranji, both in Tangerang.

Fatahillah has banned vendors affected by the fire from occupying sidewalks to restart their businesses, and is coordinating with South Jakarta mayoralty to prevent similar incidents from happening.

In a separate incident, a fire also gutted three furniture stores on Jl. Pahlawan Revolusi. The fire was allegedly caused by a cigarette butt that had ignited thinner spilled on the floor of Jaya Makmur, one of the stores.

The fire reached several drums of thinner, causing one of them to explode and spread the fire to two other shops, Bintang Jaya and Cahaya Makmur.

An employee of Jaya Makmur, Sarwono, broke his hand after jumping from the store's second floor to escape the fire, while another employee, Heru, suffered burns on his hand.

The East Jakarta Fire Department sent 15 fire trucks to the scene. The fire was extinguished quickly, as there was a hydrant 500 meters from the stores.