Jakarta short of money to buy more fire engines

JAKARTA (JP): The city is short of firefighting equipment, but the administration said on Monday it will not allocate any money to buy new equipment for the next two years.

Deputy Governor for Administrative Affairs Abdul Kahfi said that the administration would concentrate more on social and economic problems amid the prolonged economic crisis.

"I think all of us know that we need to concentrate on these problems at least until the next two years. Maybe we will think about purchasing firefighting equipment after our economic condition fully recovers," he told reporters after attending a ceremony commemorating the city fire departments's 80th anniversary.

Kahfi said the price of fire engines had jumped substantially, making it more difficult for the administration to consider.

The city fire department's head, Suharso, said that at present the cheapest fire engine cost about Rp 400 million.

Suharso repeatedly expressed his concerns about the poor condition and lack of firefighting equipment.

He said the department had only 106 fire engines at present. "This is far from ideal as it should be at least 265, meaning that every subdistrict in the city would have one fire engine," Suharso said.

Suharso said the fire department's condition begun deteriorating long before the economic crisis hit the country in July 1997.

Besides the 106 fire engines, the department currently has 2,504 personnel, 83 fire posts, 54 support vehicles and 706 hydrants.

Suharso said that several fire engines were under repair, including the four equipped with ladders.

The administration allocates Rp 11 billion from its budget for the department's yearly operational costs.

About 60 percent of the total budget is for training courses and firefighters' welfare, while the remainder covers equipment purchase and maintenance. (ind)