More fires leave 2,000 homeless in N. Jakarta
More fires leave 2,000 homeless in N. Jakarta
JAKARTA (JP): Two more fires razed homes and wood stores in
North Jakarta yesterday, leaving more than 2,000 homeless.
Fire gutted several wood stores and houses on Jl. Pelabuhan
Kalibaru, in North Jakarta last night while in Kelapa Gading,
only three days after a fire razed 200 shacks in Pegangsaan Dua,
another fire left about 2,000 people homeless in the same
subdistrict.
No casualties have been reported in either disaster.
In Kelapa Gading the victims of Sunday's blaze helped the
victims of yesterday's fire pick up what was left.
Like Sunday's victims, some of the homeless came from Madura
and owned waste businesses. Others are construction workers,
bajaj (three-wheel motorized taxi) owners, or satay vendors.
Yesterday's fire, in the slum area called Bedeng Nias, started
at 3:15 a.m.. It destroyed 450 two-story shanty houses.
Residents said firefighters only arrived at 5:00 a.m.,
although they called the fire brigade when the fire started.
But firefighters had put out the blaze by 5:30 a.m., said the
subdistrict's public order division head Mulyana.
A resident, who had twice experienced fires in different
places, said firefighters were always late.
The fire brigade said the fire was caused by a stove
explosion. But local residents said it started in an empty house
in the middle of a slum area which had no electricity.
Losses
"Financial losses were no less than Rp 1 billion
(US$418,410)," said North Jakarta Mayor H. Suprawito.
When the fire broke out people had trouble escaping because
the area was surrounded by high walls and there was only one
exit.
Locals said only a quarter of the victims knew about the loss
of their homes because the rest were celebrating Idul Fitri with
their families in their hometowns.
At least 561, or a quarter of the victims, have been
accommodated in tents in the garden of the Santa Yakobus School
and in a neighboring open field. Others sought shelter with their
families.
The local Office of Social Services, and neighbors, provided
them with food cooked by a team of Red Cross workers.
Some people claim their cash of between Rp 150,000 and Rp 7
million went up in the flames.
Heri, who ran a waste business, lost Rp 7 million. "I did not
deposit my money in a bank because I always needed cash," he
said.
Abdul Cholik, a satay seller, lost Rp 2.5 million, while Memed
Komeidi, a bajaj owner, lost the Rp 150,000 he was planning to
spend on a trip to his hometown in Pati, Central Java, where his
family were waiting.
The victims of Sunday's fire on Jl. Pegangsaan Dua yesterday
received 200 T-shirts and plaited mats from the Social Services
Office in addition to the 250 T-shirts they got from the ruling
Golkar party Tuesday, said Asmuni, who coordinated the aid.
The fire on Jl. Pelabuhan Kalibaru, North Jakarta, reportedly
began at 5:50 p.m., at the time this went to press the buildings
were still ablaze. (13)