Jakarta administration to seal off fire-prone high-rises

The Jakarta Post,  Jakarta  |  Sun, 03/01/2009 9:45 PM   |  Jakarta 

The Jakarta fire department said Sunday it would seal off high-rise buildings that failed to comply with municipal fire safety standards. 

“We have warned [the building owners] before. We will seal off their buildings if they still fail to meet our fire safety requirements,” agency head Paimin Napitupulu told beritajakarta.com. 

Under existing regulations, a high-rise must have fire safety equipment, like a water hydrant, emergency stairs and fire extinguishers. However, 44 percent of 1,400 high-rise buildings in Jakarta currently fall short of that standard, Paimin said. 

The agency recorded 90 fires in the first two months of 2009.

Fire guts Bounty cruise warehouse

Indah Setiawati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 02/07/2009 1:11 PM  |  Bali 

Fire engulfed parts of a warehouse belonging to the Bounty cruise ship company at Benoa Port in Denpasar on Friday morning. 

The fire damaged two storage rooms that held two huge tanks of water and diesel, but no casualties were reported. 

Benoa Marine Police chief Adj. Comr. Gusti Ayu Putu Suwinaci said the fire was extinguished before it spread to a larger room nearby and a ship under construction. The fire was put out with the help of neighboring company PT Jaya Kota and port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo). Ayu said four fire engines came late to the scene to find that the fire had already been tamed. Firefighters were helped by a machine that sucked up seawater from Jaya Kota into a tank that would normally have been used to water ornamental plants at the port. 

"We do not know the source of the fire yet, as the investigation is still underway. When I arrived, the fire erupted from the roof of the middle room where the water tank was kept," she said. 

The storage tank of diesel, which would have spread the fire, was still intact and its storage room only had major damage to its roof. The middle room that kept some gasoline and a water tank was destroyed, while the larger room that kept aluminum materials only had minor damage on its roof. 

Bounty owner, I Gde Wiratha, who is also the chairman of the Bali branch of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he could not yet estimate the total loss. 

"I wonder what caused the fire; maybe an electricity surge or a lit cigarette? But that zone is a nonsmoking area," he said. He arrived at the scene in the afternoon after the blaze was put out. 

He said the blaze taught him to immediately provide a special hydrant that was suitable for such a situation. 

"It's a wake-up call for us, for not having a special hydrant," he said, adding that a currently available hydrant was not supported by an adequate water supply. 

His wife, Yeni Wiratha, said she was grateful for the quick response that prevented the fire spreading to other buildings. 

"It's indeed proof that God still protects us," she said.

Dial 113 to call firefighters

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 02/03/2009 3:38 PM  

It was 1974. 

Firefighters at the South Jakarta municipal fire station received a call: A chemical factory at Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, was on fire. 

Sarmadji, now 55, one of the fire unit drivers was sent to the scene, said, "The ships at the port's docks were also caught in the wild fire. 

"We had a hard time finding a water source even though water was everywhere," Sarmadji said. 

"But we couldn't use saltwater because it could damage the pump and fire engine," said the man who has been serving for 36 years and will retire next year. 

The firefighters finally managed to extinguish the blaze at the chemical factory after fighting for nearly one full day, or 22 hours. 

That was only one of many hardships faced by firefighters throughout the city, Sarmadji said. 

"If there are not enough hydrants nearby, we have to find the closest river or other water sources and go back and forth for water," he said. 

One fire engine can hold between 4,000 and 10,000 liters of water, said Kaspul Arman, head of Jagakarsa team at South Jakarta's fire department. 

The 4,000-liter supply could last for 15 minutes depending on the pressure applied to spray water. 

The fire fighters usually work from 11 a.m. until 9 a.m. the next day. 

"We are used to working 24 hours," Sarmadji said. 

Another story about a callout to a blaze: "This time a fireworks factory in Tangerang. It was in 1978, I think," Sarmadji said. "The fire took 115 lives." 

The factory's door was too small, it was the only door, and it opened inward, not out. This problem caused most of the casualties as more than a hundred people jammed in the door trying to escape the inferno. 

Simple things like the size of a door and the direction the door opens are crucial for fire safety. 

Kaspul said some other obstacles for fire included people flocking to watch the fire, looking for water sources and locked residential portals. 

He had one crucial message. 

Not many people know the fire brigade's number to dial in case of fire, he said. 

"It's 113. Anytime you see a smoke coming out of a building, one thing should pop into your mind: Dial 113," he smiled. (iwp)

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More Jakarta buildings at risk of becoming fire traps

Jakarta's 47 fires in January cost Rp 10.6 billion

Jakarta's 47 fires in January cost Rp 10.6 billion

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 02/01/2009 6:26 PM  

Forty-seven fires broke out across the city in January, claiming 11 lives and causing Rp 10.6 billion in property damages, the city fire department said Sunday. 

“Seventy percent of the total fires occurred in residential areas, while 30 percent were at high-rises,” said the head of the department, Paimin Napitupulu. 

West Jakarta saw the most fires with 15 cases, followed by South Jakarta, Central Jakarta and North Jakarta with 10, 9 and 8 cases respectively. East Jakarta only saw five cases. 

“Most of the fires were caused by short circuits,” he told beritajakarta.com. 

Last year, the department recorded 819 fires, killing 14 and causing Rp 228.6 billion in losses. 

Paimin warned building managements, especially those of high-rises,  to comply with fire safety standards. 

“Currently, out of the 1,100 high-rises throughout the city, 10 to 15 percent have failed to equip themselves with proper fire safety systems,” he said. 

“In mid-February, I will summon the owners of buildings that have substandard fire safety systems.

“We will impose stern penalties on them .”

Hundreds in Pasar Baru lose homes to fire

The Jakarta Post, Tue, 01/27/2009 1:21 PM  

JAKARTA: Hundreds of residents lost their homes after a fire tore through a dense residential area in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, burning down 130 houses. 

The Central Jakarta Fire Agency sent 26 fire trucks to extinguish the inferno at Kelinci alleyway, Pasar Baru Timur Dalam. 

An official at the agency, Zainal Abidin, said it took three and a half hours to put the fire out. 

The fire agency received the report at 9:30 p.m. 

Central Jakarta Police do not know what caused the fire. 

The exact value of the losses sustained had not been determined, but residents estimated it to be hundreds of millions of rupiah. 

Last year, Central Jakarta saw 108 fires, down from 129 in 2007. 

However, the financial losses sustained in 2008 increased almost threefold, from Rp 24 billion in 2007 to Rp 61 billion. -JP

New service for owners of fire extinguishers

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A fire safety and security products distribution company on Thursday launched a new service in Jakarta and eight other cities that will cut the time it takes residents to refill their fire extinguishers.

Gunnebo Indonesia, also known as PT Indolok Bakti Utama, has introduced 10 "refill cars" in Jakarta, Medan, Pekanbaru, Palembang, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Denpasar and Balikpapan, according to Shirley Tamtomo, an executive with the company.

Two of the cars will operate in Jakarta, and one each in the other eight cities.

"The cars will allow our company to do the refilling process without having to bring the extinguishers to the company's depository," Shirley said during a launch ceremony here for the new service.

"Customers only need to call us. Then we will come and do the refilling process on the spot."

Shirley said it used to take two to three days for the company to complete the entire refilling process, because it had to pick up the expired fire extinguishers from each customer, bring the extinguishers to the company's depository, refill the devices and deliver them back to the customers.

The refill cars are equipped with everything required for the refill process, and can serve different types of extinguishers, whether they use halotron, powder or foam.

"We will review the effectiveness of these cars within a year. If it is considered a success, then we will expand the car deployment to the other 25 company branches all over Indonesia," Shirley said.

The company's country manager, Hindra C. Kurniawan, said the firm had been established in Jakarta since 1972, and had around 40,000 to 50,000 customers, including factories, shopping centers, banks, hospitals, office buildings and hotels.

"Every year, we have between 3,000 and 4,000 new customers nationwide, with around 5,000 to 7,000 devices needed to be refilled every month," he said.

Shirley said fire extinguishers should be refilled at least every two years.

"Until now, we import the powder and foam medium (for extinguishers) from Spain, and the halotron from the United States. Refill prices depend on the medium and the device's size. For a two-kilogram powder refill, it will cost around Rp 100,000," Shirley said.

"There are also lots of people who have fire extinguishers, but not all of them know how to use them. Our trained employees will teach these people how to use and maintain the devices."

According to the city's fire agency, there were 853 fires in Jakarta last year, down from the 902 in 2006. Forty-five of the fires in 2007 occurred in high population density areas. (uwi/tif)

Hundreds of shops in Solo gutted by fire

Solo (ANTARA News) - Hundreds of kiosts at a furniture market in Solo, Central Java were gutted by fire at about 19:00 local time on Saturday evening.

The fire was said to have been caused by an explosion in one of the kiosks in the market and immediately spread to other kiosks.

The kiosks were mostly made of wood before being reduced to ashes.

Hundreds of kiosk owners with the assistance of local residents near the market tried to save their goods.

Medan's Polonia airport sees drop in passenger numbers

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Airlines at Medan's Polonia airport reported a drop in passenger numbers Monday, two days after a fire gutted the domestic terminal.

Check-in counters, set up in large tents at the nearby Air Force base, and the airport's waiting room appeared deserted.

The head of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia's Medan representative office, Yona Mardiona, said they had seen a significant decline in passengers numbers following Saturday's fire.

He said the number of Garuda passengers reached 98 percent of its 1,296 seat capacity a day after the blaze, but dropped to 85 percent on Monday.

"We recorded a drop of around 13 percent. I don't know whether or not this is due to the fire," Yona told The Jakarta Post.

On normal days, most Garuda flights out of Polonia are fully booked, he said.

He said despite the drop in passenger numbers, Garuda would not change its flight schedule.

"Garuda will still serve 11 flights from Polonia airport daily," said Yona, adding nine of the 11 flights serve the Jakarta route, with the remaining two to Banda Aceh.

He said Garuda would move its domestic check-in counters to the airport's international terminal.

"According to our plan, we will move the counters to the international terminal on Wednesday."

Adam Air relocated its check-in counters to the airport's utility hall on Monday.

During an inspection of the gutted terminal, the director general of air transportation at the Transportation Ministry, Budi Mulyawan Suyitno, urged airport authorities to do everything they could to provide uninterrupted service to passengers.

He said his office had told state airport management company PT Angkasa Pura II to take immediate steps to cover the effects of the fire, such as hanging plastic sheets over damaged areas, to avoid giving passengers a negative impression.

Asked how long it would take to rebuild the terminal, Budi by next month at the latest.

"It will be ready by early January at the very latest, although it might not be as good as before, since it will cost a lot of money. Angkasa Pura will cover the costs," he said.

Airport head of operations Zulkifli Muslim on Monday said the damage from the fire was estimated at Rp 10 billion (approximately US$1.1 million).

"That does not include damages incurred by third parties at the airport," said Zulkifli, pointing to the various shops in the terminal that had suffered damage in the fire.

Polonia airport to continue flying after fire

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

The Polonia airport authority in Medan, North Sumatra, announced Sunday it would continue to serve passengers after a fire the previous day destroyed the domestic terminal.

The fire started about 8:45 p.m. and swept through the entire terminal. No deaths have been reported, but one firefighter sustained serious injuries while battling the blaze.

The decision to continue with services was made during a closed-door meeting led by North Sumatra Governor Rudolf Pardede early Sunday morning.

Rudolf said domestic flight departure services would be moved to the nearby Air Force base, Polonia airport's VIP room and the Medan office of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

Acting head state-owned Angkasa Pura II, which manages Polonia airport, Poniran M. Abdi, said services for domestic flights had to be transferred from the gutted terminal to other sites.

"Under the current emergency conditions, we hope all passengers who already bought tickets can be accommodated even though there are lots of schedule changes," Poniran told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

There was confusion among passengers Sunday as they waited, often for hours, to be told their departure time and location.

Syaukani, a passenger from Aceh, said he had already been waiting for more than two hours in front of the Polonia VIP room, but still there was no assurance as to when he would fly.

"I'm tired and disappointed, but I can't do anything because this is an emergency situation. I hope the government will deal with it as soon as possible," he said.

Governor Rudolf said it would take more than three months to repair the damage to the domestic terminal.

At least 18 fire engines were deployed to the scene, but firefighters had trouble dealing with the blaze because a number of hydrants were not working.

Deputy head of the North Sumatra Police criminal division, Adj. Sr. Comr. Darmawan Sutawijaya, said that based on preliminary investigations the fire was believed to have been started by an exploding voltage regulator.

Several witnesses said they heard an explosion and saw a blaze in a corridor between the transit lounge and the Garuda Indonesia customer service room, on the second floor of the terminal.

Darmawan said six forensic officers from the National Police in Jakarta were in Medan and helping to determine the cause of the fire.

He said there was a problem with a voltage regulator at the airport three months ago, but did not provide details.

Officials estimate Saturday's fire caused billions of rupiah worth of damage.

Forestry ministry extends contract to use air police's choppers

JAKARTA (Antara): The Forestry Ministry has extendedits contract with the Air Police for the use of helicopters to deal with forest fires this year.

The two agreed to extend the contract which expired on July 4, the ministry's director general of forest protection and nature conservation, Arman Malolongan, said Wednesday.

The ministry was operating two helicopters to detect hot spots, he said.

Quoting the latest report, he said fire was ravaging 15 hectares of plantation owned by PT Siak Raya in Riau province.

"I have instructed (my subordinates) to look into the fire. The management of the company must be held responsible for the fire," he said.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) has reported an increase in the number of forest fires in Simatra in the past week.

The agency's head of data and information in Polonia, Firman, said that based on images from the Satellite National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 254 fires were seen in Sumatra on Monday, compared to 141 a day earlier.

Fire takes out floors of Kemang apartments

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post) : The Marbella Kemang Residence was gutted by a fire at 1 p.m. Monday which was believed to have been caused by a compression explosion in one of the apartment's towers.

South Jakarta Fire Agency Head Feddy Alling confirmed the incident and said the fire had burnt the sixth and seventh floor in Tower B of the complex and deaths were reported.

The other tower at the complex remained untouched by the fire.

Freddy said he suspected the fire had come from welding activity on the construction site.

"We were lucky the fire did not spread to surrounding areas -- there was no thinner or painting material which would easily have spread the fire," he told news portal Detik.com.

Freddy said his office sent 16 firefighter teams to the site, and they were able to stop the fire in 30 minutes.

Separately, a marketing staffer at the Marbella, Danu, denied there was a fire blast in his office.

"It was just a problem with a compressor on the sixth floor. It was burnt and caused heavy smoke around the place," he said.

Danu said firefighters had handled the incident well.

Choppers readied for forest fires

The Jakarta Post

PALEMBANG, South Sumatra: The South Sumatra Forestry Office says it has three helicopters prepared to fight the forest fires that are expected once the rainy season ends.

Office head Dodi Supriyadi said Thursday the three helicopters were now being used for routine checks and monitoring of the forests.

"Two of the three helicopters are hired from private companies and the other one from the police," Dodi said, adding that a fourth is expected to arrive in South Sumatra before the start of the dry season.

This fourth helicopter, which is able to carry up to 5,000 liters of water, is still awaiting approval from the Forestry Ministry, he said.

He said the three helicopters already in the province, currently stationed in Palembang and Ogan Komering Ilir, are able to carry between 600 and 700 liters of water each.

Dodi said the helicopters would be vital in putting out forest fires in their early stages, before they became too big.

W. Jakarta houses catches fire

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA: At least 1,230 people lost their homes in a massive fire in Mangga Besar, West Jakarta, on Thursday afternoon.

As of 8 p.m. last night firemen were still trying to put out the fire among wooden houses the densely populated area.

No deaths were reported but several firemen suffered from light injuries when they tried to get closer to the fire.

The Indonesian Red Cross set up an emergency kitchen under an elevated railroad near the Jayakarta train station.

"The kitchen will start to function (Friday) morning. We'll provide three meals a day for the fire victims," said Edward Bachtiar, the head of the disaster mitigation section at the Central Jakarta chapter of the Red Cross.

Big fire destroys 700 houses in Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Big fire destroyed Tuesday evening some 700 houses in Duri Selatan, South Jakarta, leaving about 2,000 residents homeless, but no report yet on human casualties.

Elshinta radio station quoted an official in the firedepartment that the fire was triggered by an electric shortcut in one house in the area.

"We have prepared temporary shelters as well free food for those affected by the fire," the official said.

Duri Selatan is deemed among the most densely populated area in Jakarta.

Jakarta plays with fire for the love of money

Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It can burn you, choke you and kill you. But everyone still seems to love playing with fire.

We often think fire can only get out of control when it razes slums or crowded wet markets. But after two incidents involving fire and smoke this week -- one in a posh mixed-use complex and another in a hypermarket in the Sudirman area, where over a hundred workers were asphyxiated -- we know that's not the case.

The Jakarta Fire Department has reported that a third of the 604 high-rise buildings it surveyed in the capital failed to comply with the standard fire protection system stipulated in a 1992 city bylaw.

That number has barely inched forward from the figure reported by former department head Johnny Pangaribuan in 2004, in which almost half of Jakarta's 542 high-rise buildings lacked proper fire safety systems.

Who is to blame for the widespread flouting of basic fire safety rules?

For the department's fire prevention and protection subdivision head, Syamsir Makmur, the finger should be pointed directly at building owners and managers.

"What we can do, based on the fire protection bylaw, is merely reprimand owners and managers. We check them annually and give them between six months to a year to make the necessary improvements," he said Thursday.

According to Syamsir, most of the buildings that fell short in the survey failed to keep up regular maintenance of their existing fire protection systems, while a fraction of the others had no system at all.

Around two-thirds of the cautioned buildings housed government institutions.

"After the fire at the (state oil and gas company) Pertamina building (in Medan Merdeka, Central Jakarta), we found out that the fire protection equipment there was less than the minimum," Syamsir said.

The remainder of the buildings were privately owned, such as the headquarters of a private television station which failed to install a fire alarm in its taping room; or the apartment building in which the main pump -- the heart of the internal fire extinguishing system -- had not been properly maintained, while the building had no fire escape.

High-rise buildings are required to have at least two main pumps and one jockey pump primed to start automatically when the sprinklers are triggered by the smoke detectors.

Money-saving efforts often include a misleading selection of non-listed fire pump set with thermal-type controllers that stop the pump from running when needed, Indonesian Fire Protection Association (IFPA) director for international affairs Placidus S. Petrus said.

Generally -- depending on the distance of the furthest point from the staircase -- there should also be at least two fire escapes, high-rise designer Ken Yeang wrote in the architecture textbook The Skyscraper.

The escapes must have fire-rated doors to prevent smoke and heat from penetrating the staircase enclosure, creating a clear escape passage and allowing firefighters to move around the building effectively.

"Building owners often neglect proper maintenance. They try to cut costs without knowing the impact of not having a working fire protection system," he said.

A hypermarket in South Jakarta even had its hydrant hidden behind the door, making it invisible and inaccessible, Syamsir added.

Other building operators have blatantly refused to acknowledge fire department officers knocking on their doors, he said.

But in Jakarta, we all know there must be a reason behind everything, including some building managers' refusal to talk to fire department officers.

"Prior to my case being announced, several (fire department) officers came to me and ask for a 'fee' if I didn't want there to be a problem," the building manager of an apartment complex in Central Jakarta told The Jakarta Post.

The manager did not have the minimum fire protection system and the breathing apparatus he had was obsolete. Only after he refused to pay the "fee" was this made official in a warning letter from the department, he said.

"We are now doing what we can within financial constraints to improve safety for our occupants," the building manager said.

"I just dropped by the department office today (Thursday) and once again they asked me for money. You know who we are talking about here," he added.

Another building manager in South Jakarta said "I only stick to one officer to deal with everything."

"Others have also come to me asking (for money) and threatening this and that," he added.

This is all nothing new in this notoriously corrupt city. But when public safety is involved, it should be of paramount concern.

"Prior to using their buildings, owners must obtain a recommendation from the fire agency that their (fire protection) system works well," Petrus from IFPA said.

Beside the corrupt officers, developers should also share part of the blame.

"The fire protection system might look good on paper, but during construction, cheaper systems are often brought in," Petrus said.

According to the head of the fire department's rescue subdivision, Sunartoyo, fire protection systems account for as much as 20 percent of the total utility cost of a building.

For developers, stating compliance with international standards like the United States' NFPA is often a marketing gimmick.

Petrus has warned such developers to immediately rescind such marketing statements, especially if they violate any of NFPA Codes and Standards that were adopted as Standard Nasional Indonesia (SNI).

So what's the root of our fire protection problem? The rupiahs people can save for turning a blind eye; or the rupiahs others can get through corrupt enforcement?