On its sixth day, plastic warehouse fire in West Jakarta not yet fully extinguished

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - On entering the sixth day, the plastic warehouse fire in Gang Semut, Jalan Peternakan Raya, Kapuk, Cengkareng, West Jakarta, had not yet been fully extinguished as of Saturday morning (23 May 2026).

Damkar West Jakarta Operations Chief Syaiful Kahfi said officers were still cooling the site because there were materials buried under rubble that were smouldering.

“There are still several points that are emitting smoke,” Syaiful told Kompas.com via WhatsApp on Saturday. “We are assisted by backhoes to disentangle material still covered by rubble,” he said.

Five fire engines and 25 personnel were deployed to carry out cooling at the site. “Some units have already been withdrawn from the fire post,” he said.

Syaiful explained the main obstacle on the ground is access to water resources that must pass along the main road. “The condition forces officers to install hose wedges to prevent the hoses from being damaged as they are passed by vehicles.”

Although the firefighting process has lasted for days, Syaiful confirmed no officers sustained injuries or health issues during duty. “Alhamdulillah, the personnel are safe,” he said.

Earlier reports said the plastic warehouse located on Jalan Peternakan Raya, Kapuk, Cengkareng, West Jakarta caught fire on Monday afternoon (18 May 2026).

In video received by Kompas.com, flames roared up to the roof inside the blue-and-white warehouse.

In fact, a large explosion was captured, further enlarging the fire that engulfed the interior area of the warehouse.

Syaiful said the exact cause of the initial outbreak of fire at the site was not yet known.

“There are a lot of goods stacked up, so we are still investigating. Because the fire involved plastic materials, spraying water did not penetrate down to the lower layers,” he told Kompas.com on Tuesday (19 May 2026).

A total of 27 fire engines and 135 personnel had been deployed since the firefighting operation began.