Volunteer firefighter program has failed: Chief

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta

The increasing number of fires in the city over the last three years, and lack of manpower, has prompted the Jakarta Fire Department to launch various programs, including training 3,000 youths from fire-prone subdistricts last year.

However, the training of volunteers, grouped under the Fire Volunteers Front (Balakar), was not fruitful, due to various problems.

Fire department chief Johny Pangaribuan told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the volunteers had received training in basic areas, including how to operate the industrial extinguishers that have already been distributed among 55 subdistricts.

The volunteers are expected to share their newfound knowledge with other residents.

Johnny said the program had failed largely because many of the trained youths had moved to other areas, or found jobs.

"We need to revise the program. For the time being, we will train local residents," he said.

"However, the key to the success of the program depends very much upon the locals' participation in protecting their surroundings from fire. The extinguishers can only be used if the fire does not spread."

The fire department has being facing a chronic manpower problem, as most of the 2,520 active firefighters are over 45 years old. The government, through its zero-growth policy, has banned the recruitment of additional civil servants, including new firefighters.  Currently, 69 percent of the active fire-fighting force are over 45, meaning that 1,739 firemen will retire in the next five to 10 years.

Up to July 23, 364 fires have been reported this year, in which 11 people were killed and 28 others injured. The number of fires reported in the city has increased over the last three years, with 854 cases in 2003, 837 cases in 2002 and 729 cases in 2001.

With 53 of its 257 subdistricts prone to fire, the city administration has distributed 6,640 fire extinguishers of various sizes and 30 portable water pumps, and installed 600 fire alarms, which are directly linked with fire stations and the central fire department.

The extinguishers and the alarms are located at the houses of community unit and neighborhood unit secretaries, while the portable pumps are stored at subdistrict offices.

The extinguishers are only intended for use prior to the arrival of firefighters at the scene, while the portable pumps are only useful if there is a sufficient supply of water there.

However, Johnny said, the equipment was not enough to overcome fires in slum areas.

He said the odds were against firefighters when they faced conditions, such as: a densely populated area where houses were mostly makeshift and made of highly flammable materials, the widespread use of kerosene stoves, the improper installation of electrical facilities, narrow access to slum areas and the lack of water in some places.

The two most recent major fires, in which at least two people died and 2,500 people were left homeless, occurred in Kebon Melati and Sawah Besar, both in Central Jakarta. In both cases it took firefighters more than three hours to extinguish the fires.