Moments when the Bulungan Regent's Office was engulfed by flames late at night, firefighters injured

The Bulungan Regent’s Office building in North Kalimantan Province (Kaltara) was engulfed by flames around 9:00 p.m. local time (WITA) on Wednesday, 20 May 2026, injuring one of the Bulungan Regency’s firefighters when glass shards struck him. “I was trying to avoid glass shards from above to prevent them from hitting my body with my hands,” said Bulungan Fire Department officer Nurdin. Two of his fingers had to be cleaned and bandaged by a Bulungan PMI officer, who described him as grimacing in pain as the treatment was carried out. “I had been eating at home and was not on duty, but when I heard on the radio that there were 65 fires at the Regent’s Office, I immediately went there,” he added. Observers noted that many Bulungan Fire Department personnel were deployed; it appeared all units were present, with eight units from the Katamso Street Headquarters and two stationed in nearby districts during the operation. He did not know the exact time the incident began, but rushed to the scene once he heard the office had caught fire, and upon arrival saw flames emerging from the rear of the main building. “I went straight to the Regent’s Office as soon as I heard of the blaze,” he said. Besides Bulungan Fire Department units, a Forest and Land Fire Control (Dalkarhutla) Armoured Water Cannon (AWC) vehicle from the North Kalimantan Police (Polda Kaltara) and Bulungan Police were also seen. Firefighting units from Tanjung Harapan Airport and from the Indonesian Army (TNI AD) were also involved. PMI contributed three ambulances, one from the Kaltara Provincial PMI and two from Bulungan PMI. “Provincial and Regency PMI personnel totalled 14 on the ground, and three ambulances were on standby at the fire site,” said Tono, Head of the Bulungan PMI Headquarters. Meanwhile, when reporters arrived at the scene at about 9:30 p.m., crowds were seen entering the vicinity of the Bulungan Regent’s Office, prompting security personnel and firefighters to repeatedly urge people not to obstruct the emergency vehicles. “Step back. Do not watch,” called out a firefighter and security officer.