Electric Short Circuit Causes Fire 95 Houses In Palmerah

A total of 95 housing units on Jalan Kota Bambu Raya, Kota Bambu Utara, Palmerah, West Jakarta were hit by a fire on Sunday morning at around 02.35 WIB. Head of the Operations Section of the West Jakarta Fire and Rescue Service (Gulkarmat), Syarifudin said all residents survived the incident.

"The total 95 housing units that burned consisted of 75 housing units (rented) and 20 residential housing units," Syarif told Antara in Jakarta. He said that the blackout operation began at 02.42 WIB and was completed at 06.23 WIB.

"In total there were 110 firefighters and 22 fire engines that were deployed," said Syarif.

The fire is thought to have been caused by an electrical short circuit from one of the rented houses.

"The cause, allegedly from a short circuit in the rented electricity which is used to sell fried rice," said Syarif.

There are 20 families with 60 people who lost their homes due to the fire.

"With material losses reaching Rp3,525 billion," said Syarif.