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Residents burning trash cause fires in Pontianak
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Self-help: Residents try to extinguish a fire caused by burning trash while waiting for fire trucks to arrive, in Pontianak in August. (Courtesy of BPBD Pontianak/-)
T
he Pontianak Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has recently identified five to seven hot spots, caused not by forest fires but by residents burning trash near dry vegetation, causing the flames to spread to adjoining areas.
“We detected five to seven spots at the same time. We have deployed fire trucks, but local authorities and residents are also expected to extinguish the fires themselves,” Pontianak BPBD head Aswin Taufik told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan province, does not have forests but has experienced several fires in empty fields near housing areas. Since July, dozens of hectares have caught fire. Some have occurred on peatland, where fires are more difficult to extinguish because they smolder underground, and they also cause haze.
“I can say that 92 percent of the fires in Pontianak city were caused by manmade mistakes or negligence. People burn trash and the fires spread to dry land nearby,” Aswin said.
BPBD fire trucks have so far extinguished 45 fires.
Pontianak Mayor Sutarmidji said he suspected that some developers intentionally set fire to empty fields to clear the land quickly. If he found proof of such crimes, he said, he would suspend the developers’ building permits for three years and ask them to pay firefighting costs.
“Each field that has been burned will get a sign stating that it is under the city administration’s supervision,” Sutarmidji said. (evi)
