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esidents of Tambora, West Jakarta, were installed Sunday as members of firefighting task force in the densely populated area, kompas.com reported.

The task force’s 150 members had been trained to prevent and extinguish fires. “The idea is to make residents able to handle fires before firefighters arrive,” said task force chief Joko Susilo, who was also the training instructor.

During the training, he said, the residents were also taught to understand and to communicate with firefighters when working together to put down a fire. The Djarum Foundation supported the task force by donating 15 fire-resistant blankets, 15 fire extinguishers for small-scale fires and equipment to put out larger blazes.

Also present at the ceremony were Tambora district head Isnawa Adji and Deputy West Jakarta Mayor Sukarno. The densely populated district is notorious for frequent fires, especially during the dry season. Electrical short circuits and gas-stove explosions were among the main causes of fires in the area.