Working Late into the Night, Dompet Dhuafa DMC Team Extinguishes Fires
OGAN ILIR – Sukri said a fire broke out in a rice field in Ulak Sugeleng village, Indralaya sub-district, Ogan Ilir regency, South Sumatra, at 1pm on Tuesday (21 October 2026). He immediately reported the incident to the firefighting team.
The fire was first spotted during the day. Strong winds caused it to spread quickly. Sukri said he had tried to put out the flames with water using a liquid-fertiliser sprayer, but this could not stop the fire from spreading to the dry rice stalks.
“The fire started over there in the village, near the oil-palm plantation. We also tried to put it out with this equipment, but the fire wouldn’t go out. We poured water on it from the ponds too, but it still wouldn’t go out. Thankfully, the BPBD and Dompet Dhuafa teams arrived quickly,” said Sukri, a resident of Ulak Sugeleng village.
Sukri said that although forest and land fires in Ogan Ilir had been occurring for several months, this was the first time one had broken out in his village.
“This is the first time. But we still get smoke here from fires elsewhere. It is very disruptive. The smoke makes it hard to breathe and leaves us short of breath,” he said.
The Disaster Management Center (DMC) Dompet Dhuafa Emergency Response Team, stationed at the Ogan Ilir Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) post, went to help put out the fires.
With a tanker truck carrying 5,000 litres of water, the DMC Dompet Dhuafa team and Ogan Ilir BPBD personnel worked to extinguish fires in agricultural areas belonging to residents of Ulak Sugeleng village.
The DMC team also drew on water from ponds in the middle of the fields.
“Thankfully, after receiving a report from residents, we were able to come and put out the fire. I also thank the Dompet Dhuafa team for helping us. This co-operation has sped up the response to forest and land fires in Ogan Ilir,” said Chandra of Ogan Ilir BPBD.
At around 8.30pm, the DMC Dompet Dhuafa team moved to Purnajaya village, Indralaya Utara sub-district. There, in the middle of plantation land, flames were consuming dry branches.
Strong winds drove the fire in different directions. DMC Dompet Dhuafa and Ogan Ilir BPBD personnel had to make their way into the thicket to cut off the fire’s path and stop it spreading towards the roadside.
By 2.30am, they had extinguished around four hotspots. Embers that remained alight and could flare up in the wind posed a challenge during the operation.
Taqi Falsafati, DMC Dompet Dhuafa’s person in charge of the forest and land fire response in South Sumatra, said: “We will continue checking for active hotspots in Ogan Ilir together with the BPBD team. Thankfully, after receiving residents’ reports today, we checked two fire locations. The extinguishing operation was carried out safely and all team members are safe.”
Taqi said the operation was part of efforts to respond to forest and land fires in South Sumatra. The DMC team was working to extinguish fires and manage the sites to prevent them from spreading and reduce their impact.
“We were able to put out the fire, but residents are still living amid the clouds of smoke covering the sky,” Taqi said.