Over 500 fires occured over last 7 months in the city

JAKARTA (JP): Over 500 fires took place in the capital over the first seven months of the year, City Fire Agency head Suharso said yesterday.

Suharso said fires killed 18 people and injured 35 others, burned down 2,978 houses and left 19,390 people homeless.

Most of the fires were caused by electric short circuits, he said. Other causes included kerosene stove explosions and unextinguished cigarettes, he said.

"The 509 fires, which took place between January 1 and July 23, caused an estimated Rp 69.4 billion (US$27 million) in losses," Suharso said.

The number of fire incidents that occur each year ranged between 700 and 900, he said.

Suharso deplored news reports which blamed the agency for the delay of fire departments reaching fire locations.

"Buildings aren't exactly built as stipulated by city planning. Firefighters face various problems, including very narrow roads leading to fire locations, the absence of fire hydrants, and heavy traffic congestion, whenever a fire incident occurs," he said.

Moreover, most fire victims did not realize firefighters' problems, he said.

"They easily blame us for arriving late. They say we do it intentionally, but the fact is fires aren't reported immediately as soon as they are discovered," Suharso said.

Such misunderstanding once caused a group of fire victims to take over water hoses from firefighters so they could extinguish a fire by themselves.

At some places, Suharso said, firefighters not only dealt with problems on how to extinguish a fire, but also with upset victims.

People were sometimes angry because of rumors that houses were intentionally burned for the sake of development of modern building complexes, he said.

"We're firefighters. Don't accuse us of anything we don't do. We don't do politics. We just want to extinguish fires quickly and then go back to the office and rest," Suharso said.

He also said most high-rise buildings in the city did not have perfect fire safety facilities.

"Only about 10 percent of the city's high-rises are equipped with standard fire safety facilities," he said.

He said the fire agency only had one fire engine, which was equipped with a 50-meter ladder, that had to service 700 skyscrapers in the city.

"With only one fire engine equipped with a 50-meter ladder, skyscrapers should prepare themselves for unexpected circumstances, such as fires," Suharso said.

Among the largest fires that occurred during the past seven months were those that happened in January.

In the Taman Sari area of West Jakarta, four people were killed when a fire razed a four-story building, while in Sawah Besar district, two more people died.

Last year was considered another bad year for the agency, as 17 people were killed and 64 were injured. The 723 fires caused an estimated Rp 211.9 billion in losses.

The City Fire Agency has 2,571 firefighters, 158 fire engines and 631 fire hydrants. Ideally, the city needs 13,000 hydrants, or one for every 200 meters of street, to cover the city's 65,000 hectares. (ste/07)