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)