The Jakarta administration has warned residents of increasing cases of fire during the hot and dry

season and urged residents to be more careful.

Jakarta Fire Agency head Subedjo said that the frequency of fires in the city had increased in the
last few months.
Residents must be careful, especially in such a hot and dry season like right now. There has
been an increase in fire cases over the last few months, Subedjo told reporters after a meeting at
City Hall on Monday.
Data from the agency shows that as of Sept. 12, the city had experienced as many as 993 fires,
killing 14 people and injuring 57 residents as well as 23 firefighters.
Furthermore, as many as 581 were caused by electrical short circuits, 61 because of cooking gas,
50 by cigarettes and 298 by other causes such as burning waste.
The number of fires in Jakarta has increased over the months, from 106 in June and 167 in July
to 173 in August. In the first half of September alone, the city has seen 113 cases of fire.
We have found that East Jakarta has experienced the most fires thus far this year. Therefore, we
will increase fire drills in the area, he said.
This year, as many as 245 fires occurred in East Jakarta. The figure is followed by 233 in West
Jakarta, 220 in South Jakarta, 171 in North Jakarta, 122 in Central Jakarta and two in the
Thousand Islands. Subedjo said that the agency would make visits to schools, rusunawa (lowcost rental apartments) and densely populated neighborhoods to carry out drills.
We will carry out drills in schools, rusunawa and neighborhoods. We will train residents what to
do as a first step in a case of fire. We also want to teach residents the simple things that they can
do to prevent fire, such as turning off unneeded electricity, Subedjo said.
He added that the agency would also remind all building managements to have safety equipment
prepared in case of a fire. Subedjo said that all buildings must be equipped and ready during a
fire before calling for help.
Previously, the agency had revealed that 137 of the total 568 audited and operational high-rise
buildings in Jakarta did not possess building worthiness certificates (SLF). High- rise buildings
are those that tower over 40 meters. Article 148 of Jakarta Bylaw No. 7/2010 stipulates that an
SLF is required to operate a building. Building worthiness is determined by whether the building
has fulfilled safety, health, comfort and facility standards according to its function.
Buildings that lack SLF documents may be prone to various safety hazards, including fire.
Earlier this year, Wisma Kosgoro, located on Jl. MH Thamrin, Central Jakarta, caught on fire and
took nearly 18 hours to extinguish. The Fire Agency had reminded the management of Wisma

Kosgoro in 2008 that some of its fire equipment needed repairs.

The regulation also stipulates that regular houses need to renew their SLFs every 10 years,
meaning homeowners need to check their electrical wiring, for example, once every 10 years.
Separately, East Jakarta Mayor Bambang Musyawardana said that in order to prevent fire in his
area, the municipal administration would visit neighborhoods to educate residents on the causes
and dangers of fire. He claimed that all hydrants in East Jakarta were functioning and well
maintained, but Bambang acknowledged that putting out fires during the dry season was more
difficult.
It is harder to put out a fire during the dry season because our source of water has dried up. We
can get water from the Kalimalang or the Ciliwung River as well, but it will be difficult for us if
the fire is all the way across the city in Pulogadung, Bambang said over the phone on Monday.
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Fire in numbers
(January to September 2015)
- Area affected by fires: 280,967 square meters
- Affected families: 2,660
- Affected residents: 10,860
- Estimated losses: Rp 274.7b (US$19.2m)
- Houses: 2,286
- Commercial buildings: 361
- Industrial buildings: 9
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