Safety procedures often ignored

Safety procedures often ignored

JAKARTA (JP): High rise building developers tend to ignore
safety requirement after they get their permits, an official
says.

The head of the city development supervision agency, Hartanto,
said yesterday that the developers tend to change the design and
the structure illegally for financial gain.

Change in the design usually also means change in safety
features, and that was very dangerous, he said.

Last week Pasar Kembang market in Bogor was razed by fire and
a total of 10 people who mostly worked at Ramayana Department
Store died, according to official figures. The store was located
at the top floor of the market building.

Hartanto said that changes had apparently made the building
unsafe. The electrics no longer met the standards required.

"We will take firm action against developers found guilty of
violating the permit," he said.

He denied reports alleging his subordinates had been negligent
in supervising the public buildings, he said.

Hartanto said his office supervised public buildings which have
more than eight story, or buildings with a total of more than
1,500 sq.m floor.

Architects have blamed the agency for not doing their job
properly. Many highrise buildings are not equipped with
sufficient fire safety protection.

Boy Birawa, a Jakarta-based architect, said that safety
factors, including emergency exits, were usually made clear on
the drawings submitted by developers or architects when applying
for building permits. But the construction of the buildings is a
different story, as the officials who sign the building permits
do not supervise construction.

The authority suspected that the management of the department
store failed to provide adequate fire safety features.(yns)