KPK Clarifies No Fire at Merah Putih Building, Explains Cause of Smoke

KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo has dismissed reports of a fire at the KPK’s Merah Putih building. He said fogging was being carried out in the building, but the smoke was detected by the fire prevention system.

“We confirm that there was no fire at the KPK Merah Putih building. We were conducting fogging in the building area, and the smoke from the fogging was detected by the fire-fighting equipment, which then responded by automatically releasing smoke,” Budi said on Saturday (29/8/2026).

He said the smoke from the fire-fighting equipment serves to extinguish any sparks on electronic devices. He said the smoke did not come from a fire.

“So the smoke that appeared was not from a fire, but from the fire-fighting equipment,” he said.

Budi said the incident occurred in the basement area, specifically in the UPS battery room of the KPK Merah Putih building. The KPK is currently ensuring conditions are safe and smoke is being extracted from the battery room.

“Currently the General Bureau Team is vacuuming the smoke and checking other areas to mitigate and prevent potential risks,” he said.

Detikcom monitoring at 12.35 WIB showed minimal activity at the KPK Merah Putih building. Only a few security officers were on guard. Fire engines were no longer visible at the location.

The situation around the KPK building was also observed to be normal. Activities in the building area continued as usual.

Firefighters were dispatched to the KPK Merah Putih building after receiving a report of a fire. The fire was reported by telephone to firefighters at 11.25 WIB.

“The crime scene address is the KPK Merah Putih building,” said an officer from the Jakarta Fire and Rescue Service (Gulkarmat) Command Center.

Firefighters immediately went to the scene on Jalan Kuningan Persada RT 01 RW 06, Guntur, Setiabudi District, South Jakarta. Fire handling began at 11.34 WIB.

The fire was extinguished and firefighters continued by extracting smoke from the battery room in basement 1 of the KPK Merah Putih building. The handling operation was declared complete at 12.05 WIB.

A total of 3 fire engines and 14 firefighters were deployed to the scene. The chronology and cause of the fire are not yet known. The firefighters have returned to their station.