Unattended stove caused fire

JAKARTA: An unattended kerosene stove exploded and burned down two houses on Jl. Mustika in Bidara Cina subdistrict of Jatinegara, East Jakarta, on Tuesday afternoon while the residents were away on holiday in their hometowns.

According to Gumanto from the East Jakarta Fire Brigade, a teenager who was asked to look after the two houses located next to one another, turned on the stove to cook and then forgot to turn it off.

"The young man is apparently suffering from depression," added Gumanto, who has been on duty during the Idul Fitri holiday season for the past seven years.

He said six fire engine units from the East Jakarta Fire Brigade and two from South Jakarta immediately rushed to the incident and managed to extinguish the fire in about 70 minutes, preventing the fire from spreading to other houses in the neighborhood. --JP