Only One Office Exit at Terra Drone, Employees Trapped During Fire
Prosecutors presented a witness who stated that there was only one access point for entry and exit at the PT Terra Drone office that caught fire. The witness said employees were trapped on the upper floors of the building during the fatal blaze.
This was conveyed by Kanit Reserse unit PPA and PPO of Polres Metro Jakarta Pusat, Joni Purwanto, while serving as a witness for the prosecution in the case of alleged negligence in the PT Terra Drone building fire, with the defendant being the Director of PT Terra Drone Indonesia, Michael Wisnu Wardhana. The trial was held at the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday (15/4/2026).
“When you arrived at the scene, you secured the area and gathered information from witnesses to the incident on 9 December. You stated there was no smoke alarm, no fire alarm, no evacuation route, and only one exit access on the ground floor. Did you find these facts in the field?” asked member judge Sunoto.
Joni then provided an explanation. Joni said there was no smoke alarm and only one exit access in the building.
“With permission, Your Honour, when I arrived at the fire scene, our position was in front of the Terra Drone building. The firefighters were carrying out their duties, so we were in front. There was thick black smoke and all sorts. So if Your Honour says the front access is only one, that’s correct. That’s the only front access to the exit door,” said Joni.
He said employees from the upper floors could no longer exit the building. He mentioned that surviving employees said no alarm sounded.
“While we were there, the employees could no longer exit, Your Honour. All the employees were trapped upstairs, based on information from the surviving employees who were with us in front. As for the alarm sound, there was none, let alone the other things Your Honour mentioned,” he stated.
The judge probed the presence of portable fire extinguishers (APAR) in the building. Joni said his team secured APARs from the ground floor of the building.
“I forget the type, Your Honour, but they were secured from below, Your Honour. From the main ground floor, we took them,” he replied.
Previously, the Director of PT Terra Drone Indonesia, Michael Wisnu Wardhana, was charged with negligence in preventing, reducing, and extinguishing the fire that occurred at the PT Terra Drone office building in Central Jakarta. The fire resulted in the deaths of 22 PT Terra Drone employees.
The indictment hearing for Michael Wisnu was held at the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday (11/3/2026). The case is being tried by the chief judge Purwanto S Abdullah with members Ni Kadek Susantiani and Sunoto.
The PT Terra Drone office building fire occurred on Tuesday (9/12/2025). Prosecutors said the building was used as a storage place for PT Terra Drone’s business goods, including 6s 30,000 mAh lithium polymer drone batteries, which had only one main door without any emergency stairs.
The PT Terra Drone office building consists of 7 floors, with each floor connected by access stairs and 1 lift unit, with the building dimensions approximately 16 metres long and 9 metres wide. The general construction of the building includes a concrete flat roof with iron framework rooftop, gypsum ceiling with iron framework, brick walls with iron framework, and ceramic floors.
“The windows in the building cannot be opened; they are permanently installed. There is only one main door, with no emergency doors or stairs,” said the prosecutor.
Prosecutors stated that during the fire, employees struggled to extinguish the initial sparks because there were no APARs. The fire then grew larger, resulting in 22 PT Terra Drone employees becoming victims.
Prosecutors charged Michael Wisnu with violating Article 474 paragraph 3 or Article 188 of Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code.