The Fire at a Plastic Warehouse in West Jakarta Has Not Been Extinguished For Four Days, Here Is Why

The fire at a plastic warehouse in the Kapuk area of Cengkareng, West Jakarta, has not yet been completely extinguished after four days of firefighting that began on Monday, 18 May 2026. The duration of the operation is influenced by the properties of plastic materials, which retain heat, and by the collapsed condition of the warehouse building. As a result, embers continue to emerge from beneath piles of debris even though the surface areas of the fire site appear to be under control. The Head of Operations at the West Jakarta Fire and Rescue Service (Gulkarmat), Syaiful Kahfi, said that hotspots are now largely covered by rubble from walls and the warehouse roof. ‘The difficulty is that the items were buried by the walls, so we can’t douse them,’ he said when contacted on Thursday, 21 May 2026. He noted that the water sprayed by officers struggles to reach the lower layers of the burning plastic material. Dense black smoke continues to pour from beneath the wreckage. Syaiful said officers must ensure that the fire in the deepest parts is completely extinguished to prevent the blaze from flaring again. ‘If it’s buried like this, it’s already quite a challenge. Because there are many items as well,’ he added. An excavator is being used to uncover the outer layers of rubble covering the burning plastic material so that hotspots can be reached directly. According to Syaiful, the firefighting operation is now being conducted in tandem with dismantling the material using a backhoe.