Two Police Teams Intervene To Investigate The Pertamina Cilacap Tank Fire

Smoke rises into the sky from the burning tank 36 T 102 at Pertamina International Refinery RU IV Cilacap, Central Java, Sunday, November 14 (Photo: Idhad Zakaria/Antara)

JAKARTA - The big fire in Pertamina's 36 T-102 tank in Cilacap, Central Java, leaves a big question mark. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

In looking for the cause, the Police even intervened. Investigations and evidence collection have been carried out.

Two Police Teams

The Head of the Public Relations Division of the National Police's Public Relations Division, Kombes Ahmad Ramadhan, said that the National Police had deployed two special teams to look for clues to the cause of the fire that occurred on Saturday, November 13.

The two teams include the "Automatic Finger Print Identification System" or Inafis and the Forensic Laboratory Center or Puslabfor.

"The National Police Headquarters dispatches the Inafis Team and the Forensic Laboratory to the field," said Ramadhan, Sunday, November 15.

So far, in the process of investigating the fire of the tank containing Pertalite, it is recorded that several witnesses have been examined. They range from local residents to other related parties.

"The five witnesses who were asked for clarification were one witness from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and four witnesses from external Pertamina who were at the scene," said Ramadhan.

Ramadhan added that the National Police also carried out internal checks on team four, especially at the 36 T-102 refinery section, collecting CCTV data and other document records. In addition, the Police will also ask for information from experts related to the fire incident.

"We also secure locations with a safe radius for the community and sterilize main routes," said Ramadhan.

Fire Twice Blazing

On the other hand, the fire caused fear, especially among the local residents. Because the fire was blazing twice

President Director of PT Pertamina (Persero) Nicke Widyawati said the fire of Tank 36 T-102 had been extinguished. However, there were two fires recorded.

"Actually, last night (Saturday, November 13), at 23.05 western Indonesia time, the fire had been extinguished, but the foam opened and the fire started again," he said.

According to him, the fire was finally extinguished on Sunday, November 14, at 07.45 western Indonesia time, thanks to the maximum efforts of the firefighters in the field. He ensured that the tank fire incident at the Cilacap refinery did not interfere with the distribution of fuel oil (BBM) and LPG.

On this occasion, Nicke expressed his gratitude to all those who have helped in the effort to extinguish the fire at the Cilacap refinery.

Meanwhile, CEO of Subholding Refining and Petrochemical (PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional) Joko Priyono said that the fire of Tank 36 T-102 was successfully extinguished at 07.45 western Indonesia time.

"Currently, the tank fire has been completely extinguished at 07.45 western Indonesia time and declared safe at 09.15 western Indonesia time," he said from the Command Center Refinery Unit IV Cilacap - PT KPI.

He said some of the strategies carried out during the blackout included blocking the burning tank, transferring cargo to another tank, and cooling Tanks 36 T-101 and T-103 which were in the vicinity of T-102.

Currently, the concentration of handling is shifting. Therefore, efforts to deal with the post-fire environment must also be carried out.