Moment-by-Moment Account of Fire at Ministry of Home Affairs Building in South Jakarta: Chronology to Near-Trapping of Employees

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – One of the buildings in the office complex of the Directorate General for Village Governance, Ministry of Home Affairs, caught fire on Monday afternoon (20/4/2026). The exact cause of the fire is not yet known. However, employees and residents stated that the fire started from a pile of used goods outside the building. The incident nearly trapped more than a dozen employees in thick smoke. Building D, located at the rear of the Directorate General for Village Governance office complex, caught fire around 1:30 PM WIB. The Head of Public Relations Centre of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Benny Irwan, said the fire was suspected to have started from a pile of used goods next to the building. “The fire was initially seen at the storage area for used items, gradually growing larger and causing the fire,” explained Benny Irwan to Kompas.com on Monday. The fire quickly spread to the fourth floor at the back of the building. Employees rushed out and gathered in the courtyard. There were no fatalities in this incident. However, several employees, visitors, and firefighters suffered scratches during the evacuation process. Three people were also reported to have shortness of breath, but their conditions improved after receiving medical treatment from Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) volunteers. As a result of the fire, three nearby residents’ houses were also affected. The roofs and walls of the houses were damaged by the flames. Ceilings melted and electrical wires were severed. Debris from the building’s walls scattered to the residents’ settlement. Strong winds during the incident caused the fire to spread from the pile of goods to the boundary wall and extend to three nearby houses. A resident whose house was closest, Muhammad Sahri (45), said the fire only burned the exterior of his house because it was quickly contained by the officers. Before the incident, Sahri smelled something like burning tyres and saw black smoke from the Directorate General for Village Governance building area.