Most hydrants in Tanah Abang market not working

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While the police have yet to reach any conclusions as to the cause of the fire that gutted Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, one of the prime factors contributing to the extent of the disaster was the fact the most of the fire hydrants in the country's largest textile market were not functioning.

Fire fighters have pointed to the out-of-order hydrants as the major obstacle they faced in finding enough water to immediately put out the fire, smoke from which was still visible on Saturday evening.

The Jakarta Post joined a number of fire fighters examining the condition of the hydrants on Saturday.

There are three pit hydrants and over 30 box hydrants installed at various points in the five blocks of textile and garment kiosks in the gutted four-story building.

Two of the pit hydrants, which are located at the front and back of the market, lacked hydrant keys, which are supposed to be placed on the top of the red-painted hydrants. Both, officially maintained by the Jakarta Fire Department, cannot be opened even with the fire fighters' hatchets.

"We cannot use the hydrants nor open them. The market operator (PD Pasar Jaya) should have the right keys to open them," fire fighter Susilo told the Post during an inspection of the hydrants on Saturday.

The third pit hydrant, the only one which was still working when the fire broke out on Wednesday, is located near the market's multistory parking lot, where the local fire department's Unit 622 is also stationed.

Most of the box hydrants were locked during the fire, said Susilo, who was also in charge when the fire broke out on Wednesday.

"Even if there was water in the hydrants, the volume would not enough to put out the fire. Therefore, we took water from the nearby river," Susilo said.

Head of the Tanah Abang market management, Buhar Tambunan, said PD Pasar Jaya had planned to replace the hydrants last January. Reports said they had been there since 1976.

"Are the box hydrants working? Every Saturday, our cleaning service staff mop the floors by drawing the water from the box hydrants," he claimed.

Starting Sunday, the market will be closed to the public due to the unstable condition of the building, Tambunan said.