Most Jakarta houses are vulnerable to fire due to public ignorance

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

You may well be concerned that your home must be nicely arranged for your comfort. Iron bars might be installed on the windows, doors and fences to ensure security.

But, one big question remains. Is your home safe from fire?

You may find out the answer by checking first how many exit points are available at your home.

If there is only one access which serves both as the entry and exit point, you must ensure whether it is resistant to fire.

If the answer is no, please beware. Your home is too risky to live in.

If fire guts your home, it can burn your exit door and block your escape.

City Regulation No. 3, 1992 on fire prevention requires all buildings, including houses, to have fire exits.

It also stipulates that doors meant to be exit ways open outwards so panicked residents can easily escape by pushing them.

The exit passageways must be made of fireproof material to ensure that people can flee the fire.

The regulation also requires the exit ways must be clear of goods blocking the way at all times. They are not allowed to be used for purposes other than a fire exit, it says.

Jakarta City Fire Department head Johnny Pangaribuan said that tightly packed residential areas in Jakarta were the most vulnerable to massive fires.

"Around 80 percent of the fires in the city affect residential areas like the last massive fire in Manggarai, South Jakarta," Johnny said.

Short circuits and exploding fuel stoves are the most frequent cause of fire in the residential areas.

As of January this year, Johnny said, there were 122 fires reported in the city which claimed five lives.

Maria Goreti, 35, a resident of Kedoya, West Jakarta admitted her home was in the high fire-risk category.

"My house shares the walls with our neighbors' homes to the right and the left. We are also located in the dead end."

Maria admitted that if fire struck, she would be trapped, not to mention the lack of water or portable fire extinguishers available to fight the fire.

"The house is the cheapest rented house of its kind, close to my husband's office. I don't think that I can rent a better house at the same cheap price given Jakarta's notoriety for its dense population," said Maria.

Fire protection equipment is required by city regulations.

The regulations also require every neighborhood unit to provide portable fire extinguishers. In dense areas, every community unit must have portable fire extinguishers and water reservoirs with a minimum capacity of 30 cubic meters.

However, a neighborhood unit chief in Kelapa Gading Barat, North Jakarta, Suwandi S, said he had never heard about the laws.

"That's why we have no fire extinguisher," Suwandi said.

Suwandi acknowledged that it would be difficult for the residents to escape fire as almost all the houses in his neighborhood only had one door.

"However, I myself have a portable extinguisher at home. Just in case."

Ensure your residential area is safe from fire

1. Have at home "traditional" fire extinguishers like buckets, sand, a ladder and jute sacks in places which can be easily reached. 2. Use an automatic short circuit breaker. 3. If you live in a building with four-stories or more, ensure you have automatic fire alarm systems, and if you have a building sitting on more than 1,000 square meters, have at least one hydrant. 4. Install hydrants or water reservoirs at least in your neighborhood unit. 5. Ensure that if fire guts your home, fire engines can reach your home. Avoid the use of a gateway which blocks the way leading to your home.