Woman, grandchildren injured in fire

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang

Ninety-year-old Isah, or Mak Iyong, her grandson Hamsani, 14, and granddaughter Risna, 9, were rushed to a hospital with serious burns after their bamboo hut in Selapajang subdistrict, Tangerang, exploded in flames on Wednesday night.

The three were transferred from the Tangerang General Hospital to the better-equipped Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta on Thursday morning.

Mak Iyong's daughter-in-law Emih told reporters the fire started in the hut, which has no electricity, at about 9 p.m.

She said the hut was usually lit by a kerosene lamp, which the neighbors suspect was somehow knocked to the floor, sparking the blaze.

"Neighbors called the fire department but no trucks arrived before the neighbors had pulled everyone out of the hut themselves," Emih said.

She said Mak Iyong lived alone in the bamboo hut, which had recently been built for her by the neighborhood unit chief.

Hamsani and Risna's mother, Rasih, 40, asked Mak Iyong to watch the children for the night because her eldest son, Dul, 15, had just undergone circumcision so her house was crowded with relatives and guests attending the ceremony.

Separately in Bekasi, dozens of rental houses owned by Nani, 45, near the Pasar Baru market were damaged in a fire that began at about 1 p.m. on Thursday.

No fatalities were reported in the fire, which is thought to have been started by a malfunctioning stove in one of the houses, Bekasi Timur Police chief Adj. Comr. Sambodo was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

With the help of neighbors, firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze in 20 minutes.

The police are investigating the cause of the fire.