Over 2,000 homeless as fire hits Sawah Besar

JAKARTA (JP): A fire which destroyed more than 100 houses in Sawah Besar district, Central Jakarta, yesterday, left 330 families, or more than 2,000 people, homeless.

Residents of Jl. F Karang Anyar, in Karang Anyar subdistrict, quarreled with firefighters, who arrived late on the scene, and grabbed water hoses from them. They tried to extinguish the fire, which started at about 9 a.m., by themselves.

According to fire victims, the fire engines came half an hour after the fire was reported, but firefighters claimed they arrived in only eight minutes.

Central Jakarta Fire Department head Freddy Aling said firefighters arrived a bit late because they had difficulties reaching the location due to limited access.

The residents managed the hoses for a while before they were taken over by firefighters again.

Before firefighters arrived on the scene, the residents used any available means to extinguish the fire.

A resident fainted after he fell from a roof when he tried to help extinguish the fire.

"I used two fire extinguishers, but I couldn't put out the fire at my house," a resident said.

Freddy said strong winds also allowed the fire to spread quickly to other houses.

Lack of access to water was another obstacle for firefighters extinguishing the fire, which did not claim any lives, he added.

The hoses manhandled by residents also made it difficult for firefighters to extinguish the fire quickly, Freddy said.

He called on people to be patient at fires scenes and let firefighters do their job of putting fires out.

He said 22 fire engines were deployed and managed to control the fire by 11:30 a.m.

Freddy said the cause of the fire was still being investigated, but it was suspected a kerosene stove explosion might have been the cause.

Residents believed the fire originated from a house owned by a man identified as Asep.

Some other residents said that they believed Asep deliberately burned down his house.

"This was the fourth fire at Asep's house and the biggest fire in the past five years," Yulianto, a resident, said.

Last year, a mattress in Asep's house was burned, but the fire was immediately put out, he said.

"Asep hasn't shown up. He's probably hiding for fear that residents might mob him," another resident said.

There was a rumor that a low-cost apartment would be built in the area, residents said.

Dozens of residents were later sheltered at nearby Karang Anyar subdistrict office.

Residents asked the government to allow them to rebuild their houses, since there was nowhere else to stay.

On April 3, 100 houses in nearby Kartini subdistrict, also in Sawah Besar, were destroyed by fire.

A quarrel between firefighters and residents also took place, where the fire raged for nearly three hours before it was extinguished. (jun)