Residents Sound Warning Drums as Fire Destroys Grocery Store in Badung

A two-storey building used as a grocery store in Banjar Busana Kelod, Baha Village, Mengwi, Badung, was destroyed by fire in the early hours of Tuesday. The blaze, which gutted the ground floor, caused an estimated material loss of Rp 300 million.

The fire occurred at around 2.30 a.m. local time and consumed the ground floor which served as the grocery store. The building owner suffered losses of up to Rp 300 million as a result of the incident, said Aiptu Ni Nyoman Ayu Inastuti, Head of Public Relations Subdivision for the Badung Police.

The fire was first noticed by Ni Kadek Dwi Karina Putri, 19, who was sleeping on the second floor of the building at around 2.00 a.m. Dwi awoke after hearing a noise from the ground floor but was afraid to go downstairs because it was already dark outside her room due to a power cut. Dwi looked through the ventilation and saw that the ground floor was dark because the electricity was out. She did not dare go down to the first floor as the situation was not possible, Ayu said.

Shortly after, Ni Made Rampik, 70, screamed for help after seeing flames burning the grocery store on the ground floor. Dwi and Rampik panicked and then tried to seek help from residents in their neighbourhood. Witness Rampik screamed for help when she saw the fire growing in the grocery store. The two witnesses then together asked for help from local residents, Ayu explained.

At around 2.08 a.m., residents who heard the shouts rushed to the scene after sounding a traditional warning drum. The residents worked together to extinguish the fire using makeshift equipment such as buckets and water hoses before firefighters arrived. Residents who heard the sound of the warning drum immediately gathered and tried to put out the fire using buckets and water hoses. They tried to prevent the fire from spreading to the entire building, Ayu said.

The firefighting efforts succeeded after two fire engines from the Badung Regency fire department arrived at the scene at 2.20 a.m. The fire was completely extinguished approximately 30 minutes later. Police are currently investigating the exact cause of the fire that destroyed the grocery store. The handling of the case involving the two-storey building has been fully handed over to the Mengwi Police.