Testimony from SPBE Cimuning Employee: All Staff Had Left Before the Explosion
Ningsih (30), one of the employees at SPBE Cimuning, stated that all staff had left the location before the fire and explosion on Wednesday (1/4/2026).
“All (employees) had already left at 6:00 PM or 7:00 PM WIB. The tanker truck was filled at 8:00 PM WIB. The vapours might have taken about half an hour to fully release, and then the residents started panicking and leaving after being notified of the gas leak,” Ningsih explained when met on Thursday (2/4/2026).
Ningsih described that the gas leak occurred on Wednesday afternoon and was handled by the technical team for one to two hours.
“The incident was a leak at 3:00 PM or 4:00 PM; there was a report from an employee, it was fixed, and work probably continued. I don’t know exactly when it was fully resolved. At the time of the incident (the fire), the position might have just been filled,” said Ningsih.
Having lived near SPBE for 18 years, she claimed to have heard of similar incidents twice before.
“I heard it happened once, but it was safe. This one was just unexpected. The impact was much greater,” she said.
Nevertheless, Ningsih expressed gratitude that she and her family escaped unharmed by managing to flee in time.
“My child almost left something behind; if not, oh God. Fortunately, I wasn’t working at the time. If I had been, I don’t know what would have happened to my life,” she explained.
“The burnt area is around 2,000 square metres. Preliminary suspicion is due to an electrical short circuit,” said Acting Head of the Bekasi City Fire and Rescue Department (Disdamkarmat), Heryanto, to journalists near the fire site on Thursday (2/4/2026).
As a result of the fire, nearly the entire SPBE area suffered severe damage.
According to Heryanto, the fire occurred while SPBE was in operation, increasing the risks, including the potential for gas explosions.
“Gas like this requires special handling and the fire points must be mapped out,” he said.
Officers had to be extra cautious to prevent potential follow-up explosions, making the response more complex than a typical fire.