Bukit Apit Village Head Office Fire, Puhu Bukittinggi: 90 Percent Of The Contents Of The Building Burned, The Loss Was Estimated At Rp500 Million

The office of the village head of Bukit Apit Puhuh, Bukittinggi City, West Sumatra caught fire on Saturday 9 April. (ANTARA/HO-Damkar Bukittinggi)

JAKARTA - A fire hit the office of the village head of Bukit Apit Puhu, Bukittinggi City, West Sumatra, Saturday, April 9, morning WIB. As a result, 90 percent of the contents of the office building burned down.

Losses were estimated at IDR 500 million with almost all office equipment and archives and files burned. These include three computers, five printer machines, 15 work desks, and six cabinets.

"My condolences with this incident, 90 percent of the contents of the office burned down, but services to the community must continue, according to the instructions of the wako (mayor) while services are carried out at the PKK office which is next to the burning building," said Secretary of Bukittinggi, Martias Wanto, as quoted by Antara.

Martias Wanto then appealed to residents to be aware of fires that are prone to occur at this time.

"This scorching hot weather is in accordance with the previous appeal from the city government, so that residents are alert and careful, keep the electricity for household appliances, don't burn trash and other anticipations," he said.

Secretary of the Bukittinggi City Fire Department (Damkar), Susilo said, the fire occurred at 07.45 WIB. This fire was first noticed by a kelurahan employee who said there was smoke coming from the roof of the office.

The fire was successfully extinguished after the damkar deployed six units of the Bukittinggi fire pump and two from Agam were deployed to extinguish the fire.

"The office of the village head of Bukit Apit Puhuh was reported to have caught fire at 07.45 WIB and was successfully extinguished half an hour later," Susilo said as quoted by Antara.

He said one of the firefighters was injured on duty and had been treated at a nearby hospital.

"One of the officers was hit by broken glass while trying to extinguish the fire, it is not known where it came from, he got three stitches on his right arm," he said.