Fire in Sengkawit, 10 PMK Units Dispatched

PHOTO ISTIMEWA

TANJUNG SELOR - A fire hit a house inhabited by employees of the AZ Bananas & Dani Donats Store on Jalan Sengkawit RT 048 RW 018, Tanjung Selor Hilir Village, Tanjung Selor District, Bulungan Regency, North Kalimantan.

The fire was first seen from the back of the house at around 17.50 WITA, Monday, February 2, and quickly grew before it was finally extinguished an hour later.

The house is known to belong to Hj. Nurdin (62), a retired civil servant who resides on Jalan Semangka, and is rented to Ramadhani (40), a self-employed person.

The front of the house is used as a place of business for AZ Bananas & Dani Donats, Ayam Gebrek 88, and the Kopi Keliling business with the brand Kopi Royal.

One of the eyewitnesses, Ami (26), a store employee, admitted that he first received information from the owner of the WHM Motorcycle Workshop in front of the store about the black smoke from behind the house.

"I went straight to the back to check, but the fire was already big. We tried to put it out with APAR, but it didn't work. Finally we saved ourselves," he said.

The same thing was conveyed by Hasrudin, owner of WHM Motor Workshop. He saw thick smoke from the back of the house and immediately informed the store employees before asking his men to report to the Fire Department.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Bulungan Police, AKP Haji Rio Adi Pratama, said his party was still conducting an in-depth investigation to determine the source of the fire.

"Polresta personnel and Bulungan Regency Fire Department officers came to the location, along with BPBD and residents, to fight the fire. A total of 10 PMK cars, two ambulances and two BPBD car units were also deployed," said AKP Rio.

"At around 18.50 WITA, the fire was successfully extinguished in a safe and controlled condition. The police immediately set up a police line at the location for the purpose of investigation," he continued.

Meanwhile, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

"We have put up police lines and tomorrow the Ident Unit will conduct a crime scene to ensure the starting point of the fire," he said.

Rio revealed that based on the temporary statement of the employees, the fire was suspected to have first appeared from the back of the house which was the area of the employees' bedrooms and bathrooms, not the kitchen area or cooking activities.

At the time of the incident, Ramadhani's house tenant was not at the location because he was in Makassar with his husband to perform the umrah.

"Until now, the exact cause of the fire and the value of material losses are still under investigation. There were no casualties in the incident, but the houses of employees were severely damaged by the fire," he said.