West Jakarta fire survivor breaks down door to rescue grandchildren
A survivor of a fire in West Jakarta’s Krendang Barat street, Darto (43), said he immediately ran to save his children and grandchildren when flames suddenly spread from a neighbouring rental property on Thursday evening (28 May).
During the incident, Darto and his wife were selling goods at a stall directly in front of their rental house. ‘I was selling goods last night. My stall is in front of the rental house. Suddenly, the fire had already grown from this point (pointing to the origin), around 7:30 PM WIB. I didn’t hesitate; I ran to the house and broke down the locked door to save my children and grandchildren,’ he told reporters at the scene on Friday afternoon.
Before entering to rescue his family, Darto instructed his wife to move to a safe distance to minimise risk. ‘My children and grandchildren were on the second floor. I ran upstairs. Thankfully, all four of us survived,’ he said.
However, he was unable to save his valuables. Mobile phones, ID cards, family registration cards, and other possessions were completely consumed by the fire. ‘Everything was destroyed, but the main thing is my children and grandchildren are safe—we all survived,’ Darto added.
He stated the fire originated from the second floor of a neighbouring rental property. ‘Last night it started on the second floor, reportedly an electrical short circuit. By half past seven, the flames had already spread significantly,’ he explained.
Earlier, 27 residential houses were destroyed in the fire on Krendang Barat street, Tambora District, West Jakarta, on Thursday evening. ‘The affected objects were 27 residential houses,’ said Syaiful Kahfi, Head of the Operations Section for the West Jakarta Fire and Rescue Department (Gulkarmat), when confirmed in Jakarta on Friday.
As a result, 113 households (250 people) were displaced due to their homes being completely destroyed. Hundreds took refuge in mosques and government-provided tents. Thankfully, there were no fatalities or injuries in the incident.