Major blazes hit South Jakarta

Major blazes hit South Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Two fires broke out in South Jakarta early Wednesday morning,
causing billions of rupiah in losses and heavy traffic on the
first day that offices opened after the Idul Fitri holiday.

Hundreds of houses in densely populated Kebayoran Lama burned
down in the first blaze, the cause of which the police and
firefighters have yet to determine.

No fatalities were reported in the fire.

Residents evacuated their belongings and attempted to put out
the fire before firefighters arrived one hour after it was
reported.

Later at dawn, a fire flared in a medicine storeroom in the
D'Best shopping complex on Jl. Fatmawati.

The firefighters took over six hours to extinguish the fire,
which originated in the basement.

The head of the fire brigade unit, Achmad MSC, said the blaze
was most likely caused by a short circuit.

"It was difficult to contain the fire because there was no
ventilation in the room, so we had to knock down one wall ...
Besides boxes of medicine, a generator and diesel fuel were also
stored in the room," he explained.

The storeroom was owned by medicine distributor PT Matolindo
Primantara.

One company staff member, Ahmadi, said most of the medicine
was imported and waiting for distribution.

"The losses incurred may reach more than Rp 1 billion," he
said.

City fire department spokesman Amanudin said the storeroom
failed to meet standard safety requirements for storing chemical
substances because it was located in the basement of the
building.