Thousands Lose Homes in East Jakarta Fire
More than 300 people in Kebon Singkong, East Jakarta lost their homes in fire (Photo JG/Afriadi Hikmal)
A blaze in Kebon Singkong, East Jakarta, razed 380 houses to the ground and left 2,410 people homeless.
The blaze, which started at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, was extinguished at midnight. The fire reportedly started after a resident left boiling water unattended on a kerosene stove.
Rudy, a resident in the area, was injured while he was trying to put out the fire on his roof. He suffered from a bone fracture and is currently hospitalized at the Persahabatan Hospital in East Jakarta.
Titi, another resident, said that when the firefighters arrived, it was already too late.
"I could not save anything from my house because the fire spread very quickly," the mother of four told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday. "Now I don't have anything and I don't know what to do," she said, adding that her 8-year-old son is sick.
Asep Syarifuddin, deputy mayor of East Jakarta, that the the victims have been receiving aid since early Wednesday. "We have set up two shelter tents for them and two public kitchens," he said.
Aid from the Indonesian Red Crescent (PMI), the city's social agency, health agency, and the Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), have also started to come in. "We have also set up a health post because we have many children here and they may get sick easily," Asep added.
Salim Segaf Al Jufri, minister of social affairs, visited the victims at the shelter and gave Rp 100 million ($11,000) to the East Jakarta municipal government.
"The money will be used to buy food and basic needs," Salim said. "This is enough for two days and we are going to give more aid if needed." Salim added that they are looking at the possibility of helping the victims rebuild their homes.
“We have to sit down and talk about it first, it takes inter-department discussions," he said.
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