A blaze devastated Johar Market, a traditional market in Semarang, Central Java, over the weekend, causing hundreds of billions of rupiah in losses.

Witnesses said the fire originated near bookstores on the second floor of the market at around 9 p.m. local time on Saturday.

The fire quickly spread to other kiosks before engulfing Yaik Market, located on the western side of Johar Market, they said.

Some 16 fire trucks and dozens of firefighters attempted to extinguish the flames, with dozens of police officers, soldiers and local residents joining the effort.

The fire trucks, dispatched from fire departments in Semarang and surrounding areas such as Demak, Kendal, Kudus and Pati, were fighting the flames until noon on Sunday.

Around 8,000 vendors lost their kiosks in the blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Semarang Mayor Hendrar Prihadi held an emergency meeting near the market shortly after arriving.

'€œWe have decided that the vendors will be temporarily relocated to Rejomulyo Market. For the time being, all of their goods and merchandise will be accommodated in the market,'€ he said.

Vendors in both the Johar and Yaik markets attempted to rescue their goods and merchandise as the fires raged, piling them on the street.

Hendrar said trucks from the Semarang administration, the Semarang Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), the police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) would help vendors relocate to Rejomulyo.

'€œOur personnel attempted to extinguish the fires and secure the location, especially to protect the goods and merchandise rescued from the kiosks,'€ said Semarang Police chief Sr. Comr. Burhanudin.

The police said they had apprehended four individuals attempting to steal goods and merchandise from the burning markets.

Azis, a Johar Market vendor, said losses suffered by the roughly 8,000 vendors were likely between Rp 100 million (US$7,700) and Rp 300 million apiece.

'€œI just want a place for us to start our businesses again. Hopefully, the government can act quickly [to find an alternative] because I need to work again,'€ said Azis, a clothing vendor.

The flames at Johor Market rapidly spread to the nearby Yaik Market from Saturday evening to Sunday morning.

Some Semarang residents said it was painful to see such an important landmark destroyed. The market was on the city'€™s list of heritage sites.

Johar Market, with its dozens of pillars supporting a mushroom-shaped roof, was widely regarded as among the most beautiful markets in Southeast Asia when it opened in the 1930s. It was built by Dutch architect Thomas Karsten.

Experts have also long lauded the market as an environmentally friendly structure.

With well-designed ventilation and lighting, the market remained cool and bright despite being crowded with thousands of vendors.

The Semarang Historical Activists Community has called on the police to carefully investigate the cause of the fire.

'€œIf there are indications of an intention to set the markets ablaze, then the perpetrators are barbaric and do not understand the meaning of history and culture,'€ the community'€™s head, Rukardi, said.

Rukardi added there had been several attempts to revitalize Johar Market in recent years.

'€œAll vendors rejected the idea, however. Johar Market was the pride of Semarang and it was an icon of this city,'€ he said, adding he hoped the market could be rebuilt at the same location.

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