Aerial photos of residents observing the remains of a house and rental house fire on Jalan Papanggo 3 B, RT 012 RW 005 Papanggo Village, Tanjung Priok District, North Jakarta, on Friday, November 8, 2024. - Photo: Kompas
JAKARTA: A recent fatal fire in the densely populated neighbourhood of Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, has again highlighted how the city’s growing population and poor urban planning are increasing the risk of such blazes.
A family of four was killed and at least 15 others were injured in a blaze that broke out on Jl. Papanggo 3B in Tanjung Priok at around 1.30am on Friday (Nov 8).
Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Isnawa Adji said the fire had been started by a short circuit in a house and had quickly spread to nearby buildings.
A total of 13 fire trucks and around 70 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the blaze, which they managed to do two hours after arriving.
Two buildings were completely destroyed in the fire, and the losses are estimated to be around Rp 900 million (US$57,658).
The blaze occurred just weeks after another fire broke out in a densely populated area of Tambora, West Jakarta, killing five people and burning down 30 houses.
Authorities said the fire, which caused around Rp 10 billion in losses, was started by a gas leak in a resident’s house.
In August, a short circuit also triggered a massive fire in Manggarai, South Jakarta, burning down more than 600 buildings and causing more than 3,000 people to lose their homes.
The fire roared out of control for a time, as the roads in the cramped neighborhood were about one meter in width, preventing fire trucks from reaching the site of the incident.
Home to approximately 11 million people, Jakarta is among the most densely populated cities in the world.
In 2023, it had an average of 16,100 people living per square kilometer, a greater density than New York City in the United States, which has 11,300 residents per square kilometer.
According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data from 2023, some areas, including Central Jakarta, had population densities of up to 22,000 people per square kilometer, twice that of New York City.
Slums and crammed neighborhoods are common in Jakarta, many of which have poorly installed electrical systems.
In these areas, electrical and telephone cables often crisscross above small alleyways, posing a fire risk.
Almost 70 percent of disasters occurring in Jakarta last year were residential fires, according to the Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).
According to data from Jakarta’s firefighting and rescue agency (Gulkarmat), 3,200 fires broke out in the city in 2023 alone, almost half of which were caused by electrical short circuits.
Electrical faults resulted in 1,216 fires last year, followed by gas leaks with 205 cases, trash burning with 337 and smoking with 130.
In October, the Jakarta administration constructed five additional fire stations in the city to improve its responses to fires, bringing the total number of stations in the city to 170.
The city administration has also created fire-response task forces in all districts to educate the public about fire hazards and extinguishing methods. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
