Rapid construction coupled with more public activities at high-rises throughout the city will be the last straw, breaking the capital's already lax fire safety systems, says an expert.

"You will see more fires this year," Manlian Ronald Adventus, a civil engineering expert from Pelita Harapan University told a seminar recently.

"More public activities and more construction projects increase the risk of fires, while we haven't seen any significant improvements to fire safety throughout the city."

More public gatherings in the lead-up to the upcoming general elections mean certain buildings will be filled above capacity.

To ensure safety in the event of a fire and to prevent fires, two things need to be taken into account: Individual building management and their fire safety procedures; and fire safety equipment and building design and maintenance, he said.

"The city administration has to check both of these to create an environment where people are safe from fires," he said, adding that his team of engineers at the university suggested the administration map areas of the city prone to fire.

Furthermore, substandard building materials and worn-out electric wires can cause fires, he said.

"Ideally, electric wires at buildings should be replaced with new ones at least every five years," Manlian said.

"Unfortunately, officials do not regulate that clause - as part of the building inspections - because the replacement of wires is not required for building managements to renew their building use permits."

Association of Building Maintenance chairman Dharma Syahrial Pohan said many building managements of high-rises failed to comply with the city's fire safety standards.

"From the two forms of building maintenance - preventive and curative schemes - building managements often neglected protocols to prevent fires," he said.

He said the use of buildings for various commercial activities also raised the risk of fire.

"Office buildings with apartments and kitchens for caf*s or restaurants raise the danger of fire. Therefore, an office building combined with restaurants needs different fire safety procedures.

"The most important thing is to prevent fires in the first place," he said.

Although building structures can stand for 30 or more years, the structure should be checked every 10 years and electric wires should be checked every five years, or every eight years at the latest, he said.

Earlier on Sunday, the city fire department said short circuits were still the number one cause of fires in the city, followed by exploding stoves and unattended burning cigarettes.

In January alone, 47 fires broke out in the city, claiming 11 lives and causing Rp 10.6 billion in damages.

Manlian said that in high-rises, fire exits were crucial. Fire exits with fire-proof emergency stairways should be wide enough and should be left unobstructed.

The Jakarta Post observed that fire exits at several shopping malls in Central Jakarta could become death traps in the event of fire because exit doors were too small to accommodate hundreds or thousands of visitors.

Manlian said cars parked in front of the main lobby of building also acted as obstacles in the event of fire.

"It can block thousands of people from escaping a fire," he said.

Densely populated suburbs with little to no space between buildings to allow for fire engine access to the area are at risk of fire, he said.

The highest risk areas in Jakarta are dense residential areas, he said. "There is no space between houses. Many homes do not have double walls to separate them from other houses."

According to data from the fire department, 70 percent of the fires that occurred this year took place in residential areas, while 30 percent blazed high-rises.

The department recorded 819 fires last year, which killed 14 people and caused Rp 228.6 billion in losses.

Manlian said the huge blaze at Plumpang fuel depot in North Jakarta last month was further proof of negligence in relation to fire safety.

The slum area at the depot complex was a predictable precursor for the huge fire, he said. (iwp)

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