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Jakarta Post

West Jakarta fire kills 3 family members

A fire engulfed a house on Jl

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Thu, April 9, 2015

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West Jakarta fire kills 3 family members

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fire engulfed a house on Jl. Semeru VI in Grogol Petamburan subdistrict, West Jakarta, Wednesday morning.

The incident killed three family members, a father, mother and their 20-year-old daughter. Evidently, burning incense ignited gasoline fumes from motorcycles parked inside. The family members could not escape because the house did not have any other exits aside from the front door. All of the windows and vents were blocked by metal bars.

Edi Susanto, in his 60s, Tan Bincing, in her 50s, and their daughter, Chendy, were the only people in the house. Denny, their eldest child, lived in Cikarang, Bekasi, West Java.

Police and neighbors said the three could not escape because the rooms inside the 40 square meter two-storey house were barred for security; the upper balcony was surrounded by iron fences as well.

'€œNeighbors who wanted to help could not enter because the balcony fences were locked,'€ Fatimah Ahmad, the neighborhood head, said.

The neighbors had just finished their prayers at the nearby musholla (prayer house for Muslims) when they saw the fire raging inside Edi'€™s house at 5 a.m. They tried to stop it with buckets of water from the musholla, but the fire grew so neighbors called West Jakarta firefighters at 5:25 a.m., Fatimah said.

Nine fire trucks carrying 75 firefighters arrived five minutes later. The fire stopped at 6:55 a.m. according to Heru Agus, operations section head of the West Jakarta firefighters.

The house was located in a densely populated area '€” a 10 minute walk from Seasons City Mall. However, the fire did not spread to neighbors'€™ houses.

Firefighters and police suspect praying incense ignited gasoline fumes from motorcycles stored in the same room with the incense. Edi used the rooms to store second-hand motorcycles before selling them. Police found four motorcycles and spare parts in the two rooms.

Heru suspected that the victims had lost consciousness before escaping from the house.

'€œIn most fires with fatalities, victims faint because of the thick smoke before being able to save themselves,'€ said Heru.

Edi was found in the left corner of the second floor, partly covered by metal security bars. His wife and daughter were found next to each other in the first floor bathroom, exactly below where Edi was found.

Firefighters brought them to Cipto Mangunkusumo Morgue for forensic examination.

Tanjung Duren Police'€™s detective chief Adj. Comr. Maryadi said the police would forensically investigate the house to confirm the cause of the fire.

The West Jakarta Firefighter Agency estimated that losses from the fire totaled to Rp 200 million (US$15,400). This is the 41st fire in West Jakarta and the 250th in the Jakarta this year, the agency said. (rbk)

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