Sawah Besar fire destroys 100 houses

Sawah Besar fire destroys 100 houses

JAKARTA (JP): A fire destroyed at least 100 houses in the
crowded Kartini subdistrict in Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta
yesterday, leaving hundreds of people homeless.

Most of the houses in six neighborhood units were rented by
employees of the nearby Pasar Baru shopping center and others
were clothing home industries and shops. Only one person was
reported injured, suffering minor head injuries.

Many of the shop employees, mostly young women, arrived home
from work and burst into tears in front of the remains of their
homes.

"I had all my valuable belongings in my room," a woman said.

Smoke billowed so high that many people thought Pasar Baru
shopping center was on fire again.

On Jan. 27, at least 300 shops in the Harco shopping center in
Pasar Baru were destroyed by fire, causing losses of billions of
rupiah.

The fire in the Kartini subdistrict began at 11 a.m. and
gutted houses on two streets. Losses are estimated at hundreds of
billions of rupiah. An electrical short circuit in a house is
believed to be the cause, Central Jakarta fire chief Freddy Aling
said.

Nineteen fire engines were deployed and firefighters managed
to put out the fire at around 2:30 p.m. Hundreds of meters of
hoses were joined to get water from a river. Firefighters had
difficulty getting to the fire because of the narrow, crowded
streets.

A resident of Jl. Laksana said she was selling food on the
ground floor of her house when she saw the fire on the second
floor.

"Then I fled and screamed for help," said Ceni Suwarti, whose
mother-in-law owned the house.

Quarrel

Yesterday's fire prompted a heated quarrel between
firefighters and residents.

Several locals charged firefighters with only spraying water
on the homes of the wealthy, where the fire was just beginning to
spread.

"I will burn the fire engine if you don't spray water on our
houses first," a resident threatened firefighters. At the same
time other grabbed a hose to spray their houses.

Deputy Mayor Tursandi Alwi inspected the fire site yesterday
and said victims could take refuge in nearby mosques and viharas
or Buddhist temples. Help would come soon, he said.

A few hours before the Sawah Besar fire, two smaller fires
broke out in Karang Anyar and Senen, also in Central Jakarta.

A fire destroyed the roofs of three houses in Karang Anyar at
10 a.m. but was put out within an hour.

An electrical short circuit was also believed to be the cause
but police have questioned a man, identified as Maman, who they
suspect of burning his uncle's house while drunk.

Two people suffered minor burns and one was treated at the
Husada hospital, West Jakarta.

Almost at the same time, another fire razed a house in Senen.
The fire, also caused by an electrical short circuit, was
extinguished in less than an hour.

At least seven people have been killed and thousands left
homeless in more than 40 fires in the last four months. (jun/11)