The excitement of Kampung Bandan residents in Ancol subdistrict, Pademangan, North Jakarta, during the first few days of Ramadan was extinguished after a fire broke out and destroyed hundreds of houses on Saturday afternoon.

That afternoon, Masrifah was about to go to sleep when she heard people shouting about a fire outside her house.

“I didn’t know what was actually happening. All I knew was that I had to save my family first and then important documents,” the 58-year-old woman told The Jakarta Post on Sunday while picking up debris from her damaged house to be sold to junkmen.

More than 400 houses were razed in the blaze on Saturday afternoon, displacing more than 3,000 people. The fire also reportedly destroyed four shop houses in the Grand Boutique complex, which is adjacent to the densely-populated residential area.

There were no reports of casualties or serious injuries. A number of residents, however, experienced breathing problems due to the smoke when the incident occurred.

People whose houses were burned down are now staying in tents inside the Grand Boutique complex.

Governor Anies Baswedan visited the area and met victims on Sunday afternoon.

The governor said his side would hold a meeting next week with state-owned railway company PT KAI to discuss the temporary relocation of the displaced to a wide plot of land owned by the firm in Kampung Bandan.

The fire took place near Kampung Bandan Station, which is owned by KAI.

“Maybe Monday or Tuesday, [the administration] will talk to KAI, which has a lot of land, to discuss the situation. Then we will decide on the steps to be taken,” Anies said on Sunday.

“Now, we will rely on the tents while talking with KAI about [Kampung Bandan],” he added.

Reports about the fire were received by the North Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency at 2:33 p.m. It deployed 21 fire trucks that arrived on the scene on 2:42 p.m. The fire was put out at 6:46 p.m. on Saturday.

The losses suffered from the fire have yet to be determined.

Shortly after the incident, North Jakarta Mayor Syamsudin Lologau instructed his subordinates to establish temporary shelters, medical teams as well as free sahur (predawn meals) and takjil (break-of-the-fast snacks) to ensure that the incident would not stop residents from fasting during Ramadan.

A fire and rescue agency official said the fire was allegedly started from a stove that exploded when the owner was cooking food for breaking their fast. However, further investigation is required to confirm the cause of the incident.

North Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Budhi Herdi Susianto said on Sunday the police had questioned four eyewitnesses, Antara news wire reported.

As fires have been a frequent issue, especially in densely-populated residential areas, fire and rescue agency officials have said the agency has continuously been implementing measures to prevent more incidents. “We have taken measures to minimize the fire incident frequency by educating residents about how to prevent and extinguish fires,” agency spokesman Saifullah told the Post.

“Since 2018, we have disseminated the information to 315 subdistricts,” he added.

The agency had also provided equipment to fire-prone community units (RW) in North Jakarta, Saifullah said.

Moreover, agency officials have also checked residents’ electricity usage and gas installations regularly.

However, he said the agency was attempting to launch a new program called dasa wisma with the help of residents who will carry out safety checks.

“We just started five pilot projects in one subdistrict in each municipality this month. Penjaringan subdistrict in North Jakarta, which is the most fire-prone area in the city, is included in the pilot project,” he said.

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