Shangri-La gives discounts over fire

JAKARTA (JP): The Shangri-La Hotel gave discounted room rates to guests who were evacuated when a fire broke out in the hotel on Saturday morning.

"So far, we haven't had any complaints from customers but we've given discounts to the guests who were inconvenienced due to the fire," Dodo, a duty manager at the five-star hotel, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Dodo was in charge when the fire broke out. He refused to say what the discounted rate was.

The fire started at 7:15 a.m. in an empty pantry on the 17th floor of the 31-story hotel on Jl. Sudirman Kav. 1 in Central Jakarta.

Reports quoted eyewitnesses as saying that thick smoke was first noticed coming from the 23rd floor.

Security staff evacuated guests from the 23rd floor down to the 17th floor.

Fire fighters and security personnel braved the thick black smoke to find the source of the fire.

Reports said that panicky guests, some carrying personal belongings, struggled down the emergency stairs to the ground floor after security staff locked the elevators for safety reasons.

Dodo said that nearly half of the 28 rooms on the 17th floor were occupied at the time.

No casualties were reported and the management of the three- and-a-half-year old hotel said the fire had damaged only the pantry.

Losses were still being calculated, Dodo said.

"The pantry is sealed with a police line and we've been informed that the forensic police will investigate further tomorrow (Monday)," he said.

He said that the management still had no idea what started the fire.

But officer Prayitno S. from the City Public Order office confirmed that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit in the pantry on the 17th floor. He said bundles of paper in the pantry were destroyed in the fire, but did not elaborate.

Fire fighters in 13 vehicles rushed to the scene but were unable to extinguish the fire from the outside because it was too high up.

The fire was successfully put out by the fire fighters and hotel security staff about an hour later using the hotel's fire extinguisher units. (bsr)