TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Fire in West Jakarta dislocates 185 families
The fire started at 2:59 a.m. and it took nearly seven hours for firefighters to put out the flames.
Change Size
The remains of houses engulfed by fire along Jl. Tomang Timur in Tomang, West Jakarta on Jan. 21. (kompas.com/Rima Wahyuningrum)
A
fire that engulfed buildings along Jl. Tomang Raya in West Jakarta on Monday morning forced 1,251 residents belonging to 185 families out of their homes.
The blaze started at 2:59 a.m. and it took nearly seven hours for firefighters to put out the flames, kompas.com reported
Grogol district head Achmad Sajidin said that his office had prepared two posts to temporarily house the affected residents of the densely populated area.
“We need government assistance. Currently we have received aid from the [Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency] and the city’s Social Agency. Members of the public are also taking part to help,” Achmad said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.
The posts set up to house the residents are equipped with kitchens, Achmad said, adding that state-owned electricity firm PLN and city-owned tap water supplier PT Palyja are also giving assistance.
Achmad said the dislocated residents currently need portable toilets.
Separately, Governor Anies Baswedan said that fires occur nearly every day in Jakarta. Thus, he urged residents to be aware of the presence of electricity lines around their areas and to avoid dangerous activities within range.
This most recent fire is believed to have been caused by the explosion of a 40-kilogram container of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at the house of a 40-year-old resident identified as Tum.
“It was caused by an LPG explosion, but to precisely identify the cause we need to conduct further investigations,” West Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Hengki Haryadi said. (fac)
