Jakartans warned about fire dangers

Jakartans warned about fire dangers

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Fire Department urged residents,
especially those celebrating Idul Fitri outside the city, to
safeguard their houses before leaving.

Suharso, head of the department, told The Jakarta Post many
houses were left empty over the holiday and he did not want
holidaymakers returning to a fire-gutted home.

"I urge all Jakartans to carefully check all electricity goods
and equipment to help prevent the possibility of fire-related
incidents."

Last year, 1,215 fires were recorded, substantially more than
the previous high of 1,082 fires in 1982, he said. Fires killed
38 people last year.

He issued the warning yesterday because many holidaymakers
tended to leave their houses in a hurry.

This month there have been 56 fires in the city, he said,
adding that many of the incidents were due to people's
recklessness.

During the Idul Fitri celebration, the department will have
2,553 personnel stationed at 80 fire posts throughout the city.

"I really hope all residents can stay safe and celebrate Idul
Fitri happily.

"Fire is one of the worst things that can happen. It will
destroy almost everything."

Suharso said the department has opened a fire hotline: (021)
113 and each mayoralty has a home base: Central Jakarta (021)
3841216, West Jakarta (021) 5682284, South Jakarta (021) 7694519,
East Jakarta (021) 8582150 and North Jakarta (021) 493045.

"If people report fires quickly, hopefully we can put it out
before it's too late."

When asked whether arsonists were behind the burning of slum
areas, as suspected by some locals, Suharso said the accusations
were completely wrong and unfair.

"I admit that we have frequently faced such problems.

"People usually get angry, especially when there's a rumor
that the fire was an act of sabotage in order to evict residents
from their land.

"Many times firemen, who were trying to put out the blaze,
were beaten or had their fire engines vandalized because of these
misunderstandings. This is outrageous! We've been working like
dogs (to extinguish the fire).

He said firefighters had no time to publicly defend themselves
as they were already swamped with round-the-clock working hours
and limited personnel who were expected to handle all the fires
in the city."

On Monday there were three fires in Central Jakarta but no
fatalities were reported.

First fire

The first fire gutted three kiosks on Jl. Garuda in Kemayoran.

The blaze, which started at 7 a.m., was extinguished at 7.40
a.m. by firefighters. Six fire engines were dispatched to fight
the blaze.

The source of the fire was believed to be a liquid gas tank
which exploded in one of the nearby food kiosks.

As rain drenched the city Monday night, a fire razed 60 houses
on Jl Pualam Raya in the densely populated area of Sumur Batu in
Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, leaving at least 350 people homeless.

There were no reported fatalities but police are investigating
the cause of the fire, which caused hundreds of millions of
rupiah in damage.

According to the head of the local fire department, Freddy
Aling, the fire was believed to have started about 11 p.m. when
most residents were going to sleep.

"Some residents said the fire was most likely caused by a
short circuit after lightning struck one of the houses."

Freddy said the fire spread quickly as most of the homes were
made of flammable materials such as wood and built close
together.

"As far as I can remember, none of the residents had a chance
to save their belongings due to the enormous size of the blaze
and its rapid escalation."

Twenty fire engines, including four from North Jakarta Fire
Department, were dispatched to the scene along with 100
firefighters, he said. It took two and a half hours to extinguish
the inferno.

Freddy said local people assisted the firefighters and there
was a good supply of water.

Those left homeless are being housed temporarily in makeshift
tents, provided by the municipality and local district military
command and erected in a vacant lot on Jl. Pualam II.

A smaller blaze that night gutted a cellular phone shop on Jl.
Samanhudi in the busy shopping district of Pasar Baru.

Freddy said an electrical short circuit was believed to be the
cause of the fire, which started about 9:30 p.m.

"The fire, however, was isolated to the building and we were
able to extinguish it in about one hour," he said. (edt/04)