Police investigate factory fire

JAKARTA (JP): Three employees of a shoe factory destroyed by a fire Wednesday morning are still under questioning by the Tangerang police.

"However, we can not yet announce any conclusion to our preliminary investigation about the fire because everything is still ongoing," Tangerang Police Chief Lt. Col. Djoko Satryo told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

The fire, which started at around 5 a.m. Wednesday caused an estimated loss of billions of rupiah as it burned thousands of pairs of ready-to-export shoes, five company cars, a large quantity of raw materials and several machines.

No fatalities were reported but three employees, one woman and tow men, were reportedly badly burned after failing to escape quickly enough.

They were identified as Henny (the woman), Budi and Kusnadi. They were rushed to two different hospitals: the Tangerang General hospital and Assobirin Hospital.

Located in the small village of Cibadak at Cikupa, Tangerang, the factory owned by PT Gandawa Indawa produced several international brand-named shoes, such as Eagle.

Despite employees attempts to put it out with extinguishers, the fire grew bigger. The five fire crews that attended also found it uneasy to put the fire out immediately.

Djoko said yesterday,"It's not easy for us to conclude the real cause of the blaze.

"But we'll keep on investigating all possibilities that might have sparked the fire, including the possibility of an arson," said Djoko, who is soon to be promoted to be the deputy commander for cadets at the Police Academy in Semarang, Central Java.

The officer said that forensic police experts from the National Police headquarters are due to examine the scene soon.

Yesterday, the gutted factory was being guarded by dozens of police and military personnel.

According to Prana Sigit, head of the Tangerang Municipality Fire Brigade, there are around 1,400 factories in Tangerang, most of which are export-oriented producers and prone to fire. (bsr)