Police investigate fire that kills mother and son

Police investigate fire that kills mother and son

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Police are investigating the cause of a fire that killed a mother
and son on Thursday evening, city police spokesman Sr. Comr.
Tjiptono said.

"We have sent officers there to find out what really happened.
We have not named anybody a suspect yet," Tjiptono told The
Jakarta Post on Friday.

A mother and son, identified as Sitia, 47, and Firdaus, 26,
died in a blaze that razed their motorcycle repair shop in Pasar
Manggis, Setia Budi, South Jakarta on Thursday evening.

According to witnesses, the fire started from the victims'
workshop and spread quickly to other shops in the vicinity.

At least four other shops, including a herbal medicine shop,
instant noodle shop and clothing shop, were destroyed in the
fire.

"Several residents saw the fire start from the workshop and
then spread to other shops," Sudarto, an official at Pasar
Manggis subdistrict office, was quoted as saying by Kompas Cyber
Media.

The fire started at 8:30 p.m., and in only about 15 minutes
the fire had razed all the shops linked to the workshop.

Several minutes later, firefighters arrived, and with the help
of local residents they managed to extinguish the fire completely
at 9 p.m.

The two victims were immediately taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo
General Hospital in Central Jakarta for an autopsy.

Another witness, who declined to be identified, said the fire
could have been caused by a short circuit as the circuit was
overloaded causing the wires to burn.

Tjiptono said police would use the information as a starting
point for further investigation.

"We are open to any possibility as the investigation is still
in progress," he said.