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View all search resultsAlways on call: How firefighters won the public’s heart
From rescuing trapped cats to catching pythons and retrieving lost phones, firefighters in Indonesia have become unlikely everyday heroes: a rare public service people trust and love.
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This is a drill: Firefighters extinguish flames during a fire prevention and response training session in Madiun, East Java, on Nov. 5, 2025. The exercise, joined by members of the Madiun Fire and Rescue Department, honed their skills and sharpened their readiness to handle emergencies. (Antara/Siswowidodo)
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n a country where public services are often associated with long, bribery-ridden bureaucratic processes, firefighters stand out as a rare example of an institution that simply works.
Beyond extinguishing fires, they respond to calls to remove wasp nests, rescue buffaloes trapped in wells, or retrieve stuck valuables, often resolving these emergencies within minutes, a testament to their reliability and quick response.
One recent incident was reported by 24-year-old Tria Wulandari, who found a cat trapped inside a metal frame when she stopped by a convenience store in Batam, Riau Islands.
“The cat was meowing nonstop and sticking its paws through the metal frame, like it was begging for help. That’s when I realized it was trapped, and there was no way out. Everything was sealed,” she said.
Tria fed the cat while calling the local fire station, inspired by countless rescue clips she had seen on social media. In less than 15 minutes, firefighters arrived and freed the cat.
“They really showed up fast, just like on social media, and it was free of charge,” she said.
Similar stories have unfolded across the country. In Bandung, West Java, firefighters were seen in a viral video helping a woman remove a nose piercing stuck on a chair, drawing laughter from social media users. In East Jakarta, they helped a family bury a 210-kilogram relative at the Pangeran Jayakarta Public Cemetery. In South Jakarta, officers from the Kebayoran Baru Fire Station removed a 7-meter python from a residential neighborhood on Jl. Haji Nawi Raya.
