Martinnius Reja Panjaitan, a 31-year-old firefighter from the Cimanggis Fire Station in Depok, struggled to breathe after battling the flames for an hour and a half alongside 39 colleagues and 10 fire trucks.

He retreated to a volunteer ambulance, accompanied by a fellow firefighter, according to kompas.id.

Martinnius removed his personal protective equipment so he could breathe more easily, while his colleague searched for a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) mask, which would provide clean air amid the toxic smoke.

However, that night, no one had air respirators, and the volunteer ambulance also lacked an oxygen tank. Martinnius was rushed to Sentra Medika Hospital, the closest health facility to the fire scene, but he has later pronounced dead.

"The applause and gratitude from the community made us happy. But it's heartbreaking that Martin passed away," Martinnius’ team leader Yohan Yakub said on Monday as quoted by kompas.id.

The rescue section head at Depok Fire and Rescue Agency, Tessy Haryanti, told kompas.com on Saturday that Martinnius did not wear a mask while on duty because the fire location was not an enclosed space.

"The fire site was 80 percent open air, so there was a possibility for adequate air circulation," she said.

"Masks are used in confined spaces."

Tessy did not reveal the cause of Martinnius's death, leaving it to the medical team.

Sandi Butar Butar, a firefighter from the same fire station as Martinnius, said on Monday that two SCBAs in the fire station were nonfunctional despite being crucial for firefighting.

Sandi said the absence of SCBAs was not the only violation of standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Another SOP that is routinely neglected is the provision of an ambulance at every fire location.

Sandi said that Depok Fire and Rescue Agency had two ambulances, which were on standby and had to deploy to a fire location.

“However, during the fire [on Friday], there was only a volunteer ambulance,” he said.

He hoped the government could provide adequate equipment and improve safety measures for firefighters.

Sandi has repeatedly voiced firefighters' concerns about inadequate equipment through social media posts that have gone viral. He has made videos of damaged equipment, such as water hoses and nozzles, rubber boats, chainsaws and personal protective equipment.

“Broken equipment is no longer an exception but are facts in the field. They have fixed the equipment at Cimanggis Fire Station but not in other fire stations,” he said.

In September, Sandi, accompanied by his lawyer Deolipa Yumara, reported allegations of corruption involving the Depok Fire and Rescue Agency to the Depok Prosecutor's Office.

Sandi and 80 of his colleagues discovered that the Depok city administration allocates an annual budget for repair and purchase of firefighting equipment, yet many items remain broken and have not been replaced for years.

Sandi is scheduled to provide testimony regarding the corruption allegations to the special crime section of the prosecutor’s office on Wednesday.

He confirmed his intention to comply with the summons.

"For my friend who passed away, I must fight for this case," Sandi said on Monday, as quoted by kompas.com. (jan)