Shop at Satpas SIM in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, burns down

Jakarta (ANTARA) - A shop in the Satpas SIM area of Polda Metro Jaya, Cengkareng, West Jakarta, burned on Thursday around 22:30 WIB, until it spread to the police guard post. Before firefighters arrived, locals attempted to extinguish the fire using water from a drain near the site. By around 23:10 WIB, the blaze consuming the shop had been brought under control. However, the fire spread to the police post building located right beside it, causing the post to burn as well. A witness named Angga, interviewed at the scene Thursday night, said the shop typically operates in the daytime and closes toward the evening, noting that Satpas SIM is not open 24 hours. “The shop is only open during the day. At night it’s usually empty, because the Satpas SIM isn’t open 24 hours,” Angga said. He said the fire initially appeared from the top of the building before it expanded. “Initially, from the shop, probably a electric short circuit from above, then spread to the neighbouring post,” he added. Angga suspected the fire was caused by an electrical short, given the shop had previously had electrical problems. However, the shop owner said the problem had been addressed. “There were sparks on top at the time. He said it had been fixed,” he added. Meanwhile, the West Jakarta Fire and Rescue Office (Gulkarmat) head of operations, Syaiful Kahfi, said they received the incident report at 22:40 WIB. “Firefighting began at 22:52 WIB and the blaze was localised at 22:55 WIB, with the operation declared complete at 23:18 WIB,” Syaiful said. He added that seven fire engines were deployed with 35 personnel to tackle the blaze. “There were no casualties. The situation at the scene has since returned to calm,” he said.