200 dwellings razed by fire

Fire ravages some 200 houses in West Jakarta
Sunday, July 25, 2010 22:54
Jakarta (ANTARA News) -

Fire ravaged at least 200 houses in Pekojan, West Jakarta, at the wee hours of Sunday, leaving thousands of people displaced. The fire broke out at around 2.50 a.m. at one of the houses and later spread to other buildings, Head of the Operations Section of the West Jakarta Fire Fight and Natural Disaster Control Service Endang Hairudin said.

"At this moment the blaze has been put out. Several fire trucks are still in the scene ... To prevent the fire from spreading further the fire department sent 28 fire trucks from West Jakarta, Central Jakarta and North Jakarta," he said.

Nurman, a local resident, said the fire came from the building next to his house.

"Somebody knocked my front door several times. I supposed the man was drunk. But it turned out that the house next caught fire," he said.

"For the time being, the displaced people are being sheltered at the village head administration building. No relief aid, either from the city administration or other agencies, has been sent to the scene," he said.

Police are still looking into the cause of the fire.

Eyewitnesses said the fire was believed to have been caused by a short circuit.
There was no immediate report of casualties or material damage.