Massive Jakarta fire leaves over 600 residents homeless
What's the story
A massive fire broke out at the Jiung Market in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on Monday night. The blaze affected hundreds of residents and destroyed several buildings. According to the Jakarta Globe, 35 fire tenders and 175 firefighters were deployed to the scene. It took them over seven hours to bring the fire under control. The fire incident left nearly 304 buildings, 354 households, and a total of 679 residents affected.
Casualty details
Key demographics of those affected
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the Kemayoran fire. Deputy Governor Rano Karno said the affected people included 326 men and 353 women. In addition, the demographics included 35 elderly individuals, 90 toddlers, 53 elementary school students, six junior high school students, and 22 vocational high school students. There were 414 adults, and several women were pregnant.
Relocation refusal
Residents refuse to relocate
The city administration has offered to relocate the victims to public housing apartments. However, many have refused the offer as they have lived in their community for years before the fire destroyed it. One of these residents is Hapil, a street vendor who lived and worked in the area for 30 years. He said he didn't have time to save anything when his rented house caught fire.
Ongoing probe
Cause of fire unknown
Authorities are still investigating what caused the fire at Kemayoran. Deputy Governor Rano Karno said nearly 95% of fires in Jakarta are caused by electrical short circuits. Another resident, Isti, noticed something was wrong when she saw thick smoke filling the area, but didn't know what caused it. The city administration had offered to relocate the victims to public housing apartments.