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National Museum fire raises fears about local museum safety, security
The National Museum should follow the fire-prevention measures and procedures provided by an international museum council, according to a historian.
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Police officers patrol around the front courtyard of the National Museum in Jakarta on Sept. 17, 2023 following a fire that burned Building A of the museum and destroyed some hundreds of replicas. (Antara/M. Risyal Hidayat)
M
useum goers and historians have expressed their concerns about the lack of fire prevention and other security measures at museums across the country following a recent fire that struck the National Museum in Central Jakarta.
A fire broke out at the country’s largest museum on Saturday night. The blaze lasted three hours and gutted six rooms of the museum’s Building A.
A preliminary investigation has found that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit in a nearby shed used to store construction materials for ongoing renovation at the museum. The fire spread to Building A fanned by a strong wind and led to the collapse of walls and roofs.
Many people immediately asked about the fire-extinguisher system in the museum, a sentiment mostly shared among Indonesian social media netizens.
“What’s with the museum’s alarm and water sprinkler system?” Instagram user @nunatarunak wrote on Wednesday on @jktinfo’s page about the blaze. “[The museum] has a collection that presents our cultural development since the start of Indonesia’s civilization. It should’ve been extra protected.”
