Three fires raze homes, businesses

JAKARTA (JP): At least three fires were recorded in the capital yesterday, causing millions of rupiah in material losses. No fatalities, however, were reported.

The biggest of the three gutted at least 60 semipermanent houses in the closely packed Kenari subdistrict of Senen, Central Jakarta, yesterday morning, leaving 487 people homeless.

Saman, an eyewitness, said the fire started at about 9 a.m. when a gas stove exploded in the house of a local resident named Abu.

Residents and security personnel were seen joining hands to put out the fire.

Some housewives reportedly burst into tears upon seeing their homes engulfed in flames.

A woman who hastily left work after receiving the news said she could only manage to save her five children.

"All our belongings, including my children's school certificates, were ravaged by the fire," she said.

The Central Jakarta Fire Department deployed 23 fire engines and managed to extinguish the blaze two hours later.

The department's operation and control head, Idrus Padei, said the narrow streets leading up to the area, which is home to 180 families, had made it difficult for his men to quickly reach the site.

"The fact that the houses were located very close to each other played a large role in making the fire spread quickly," he added.

Fire victims are temporarily being sheltered in the subdistrict office and M.H. Thamrin building, owned by the Betawi Consultative Board (Bamus).

Another fire on Jl. Raya Bekasi in East Jakarta destroyed two timber warehouses early yesterday, causing Rp 105 million in losses.

Tukiman, an officer at the East Jakarta Fire Department, said the blaze broke out at 4:30 a.m and was extinguished five hours later.

He said the cause of the fire, which destroyed hundreds of cubic meters of logs, was still under police investigation.

The warehouses belong to PT Pulo Kencana and PT Dwi Tunggal.

In South Jakarta, a house used as a garment manufacturing facility on Jl. Mampang Prapatan was gutted by a fire at about noon. At least six sewing machines and the house's roof was lost to the blaze.

The South Jakarta Fire Department deployed seven fire engines to the site, extinguishing the fire at 1:30 p.m. (jun)