Huge Fire Destroys 400 Houses, Stores

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A huge fire broke out at Pasar Gembrong, Jatinegara, East Jakarta on Sunday night, April 24, 2022. The fire was observed soaring that it was difficult to be put off until the early hours of today, April 25. Hundreds of houses around the scene of the incident were devoured by the red rooster.

Head of the Fire Control and Rescue Operations of the East Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency (Gulkarmat), Gatot Sulaeman, reported that the fire occurred at the traditional toy market in front of Bassura City Mall, namely at Jalan Jendral Basuki Rahmat, North Cipinang Besar Sub-district, Jatinegara.

“400 houses and shops in RT 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, RW 01 caught fire as the fire area reached approximately 1200 square meters,” said Gatot in a written statement on Monday morning, April 25.

In the video that Tempo received, it was a huge fire that could be seen from far away. Firefighters reportedly continued to mobilize more fleets to extinguish the raging blaze.

Gatot explained the fire initially occurred due to an electrical short circuit in the second floor of a house. “The owner of the house screamed fire and the residents tried to put out the flame but it quickly grew and spread to the surrounding area because the buildings are made of wood,” he said.

Consequently, 450 families consisting of 1,000 people from five neighboring units (RT) lost their homes.

The fire was highly difficult to extinguish. A total of 26 fire engines with 130 personnel were deployed. The fire was finally localized at 02:20 Western Indonesian Time (WIB).

There were no fatalities in this distratous fire at Pasar Gembrong. However, Gatot said the loss was estimated to reach approximately Rp1.5 billion.

HAMDAN CHOLIFUDIN ISMAIL