Two dead, six injured in Penjaringan fire

JAKARTA (JP): Two people died and six others were injured when fire gutted a two-story sock factory and six nearby houses in Penjaringan, North Jakarta, yesterday.

One of the fatalities, Rubiyatun, worked at the factory owned by Zetset company on Jl. Bidara Raya, while the other victim has not been identified.

Rubiyatun's body was found two hours after the fire was extinguished, First Lt. Sujarno of the Penjaringan Police subprecinct said.

Rubiyatun, a night shift worker, was sleeping in the factory's dormitory on the second floor when the fire broke out.

"Her friends didn't realize that she slept in the dormitory. So they just tried to save themselves," Sujarno said, adding that there were at least 75 night shift workers .

Sujarno said there was little information on the unidentified male victim.

According to eyewitnesses, the man, who had been at a nearby bar, was reportedly drunk and fell down when he tried to escape from the fire, Sujarno said.

The fire was believed to have started at 6 a.m. in the factory's raw materials warehouse on the first floor, he said.

"I was about to leave the factory when I saw thick, black smoke coming out of the warehouse," Eko, one of the factory workers, said.

North Jakarta Fire Department was notified about 8 a.m. and it deployed 13 units of fire engines to the scene.

The six victims were rushed to Atmajaya Hospital in North Jakarta for medical treatment.

The extent of material losses has not been revealed.

Another fire engulfed four rooms on the 15th floor of the unoccupied Bulevar Park Royal hotel on Jl. S. Parman, West Jakarta on Saturday.

After about two hours, the crews of 10 fire engines from the West and Central Jakarta fire departments succeeded in putting out the blaze.

Four construction workers, who were trapped in the fire, were safely evacuated from the 24-story hotel, West Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Timur Pradopo said.

The four workers, identified as Yeri, Dedi, Ismail and Jatmiko, were in good health and no fatalities were reported.

Head of Jakarta Fire Department Suharso said the cause of the hotel fire was still being investigated but an electrical short circuit was believed to have sparked the blaze. (09/edt/emf)