Pharaa Sentani Central Market Fire, Jayapura Police Immediately Investigate

JAKARTA - Jayapura Resort Police (Polres), Papua is investigating the cause of the fire at the Pharaa Sentani central market.

A fire broke out in the Pharaa Complex, Hinekombe Village, Sentani District, Jayapura Regency and scorched four shophouses, including a grocery store owned by H. Lafuda, and the Kediri Lestari Food Stall managed by Hj. Sumiyati.

Jayapura Police Chief (Kapolres) AKBP Umar Nasatekay in Sentani, Saturday said his party was investigating the cause of the fire.

"We are currently investigating the crime scene (TKP) causing the fire which scorched four shophouses and several stalls," he said.

According to the Police Chief, after receiving information regarding the fire, the Jayapura Police personnel, were led by the Police Chief and accompanied by the Head of Ops, Kompol Septen P Sianturi and the Head of the City Police, Kompol Mansyur, went straight to the scene to ensure the situation remained safe and helped the blackout process.

"Joint personnel from the Jayapura Police, Sentani City Police, as well as one platoon of Battalion RK 751 VJS helped the process of extinguishing the fire," he said.

He explained that during the fire, fire engines from various agencies including PT. Angkasa Pura 1 and water cannon vehicles belonging to the Jayapura Police were deployed to accelerate extinguishing efforts.

"We appreciate the community's cooperation in helping the initial extinguishing so that the fire can be extinguished immediately," he said.

He added that from the testimony of the witness (Angki) the fire was first seen coming from the Broken Store, H. Lafuda's Belah.

"The witness stated that he saw the hotspots emerging from the shop and immediately tried to extinguish the fire using makeshift tools," he said.

He revealed that the cause of the fire could not be ascertained, currently his party is still gathering information from witnesses who have different explanations about the origin of the fire.

"We have installed police lines around the location and carried out further investigations, including crime scene processing to determine the cause of the fire," he said.

He confirmed that he would conduct further investigations to find out the exact cause of this fire.

"We also urge the public not to easily believe in hoax news that may be spread by certain individuals to trigger unrest," he said.

Meanwhile, the owner of the food stall Lestari Kediri Hj. Sumiyati said that she heard a commotion outside the shop after closing her shop.

"When he came out, he saw that the fire had grown in the grocery store next to the shop," he said.