20 Pedagang Kiosks At Lateng Bali Market Ludes Burns, Losses Are Estimated To Be BILLIONs Of Rupiah

Fire at Lelateng Market in Jembrana, Bali/VIA ANTARA

BALI - Around 20 stalls of Lelateng Market traders in Jembrana Regency, Bali were burned down in a fire that occurred Saturday, February 4 evening. Based on information collected until Sunday morning, the loss due to the fire in block A and B of the market owned by the local traditional village reached billions of rupiah. "The average block A and B is occupied by basic food traders. There are about 20 stalls that have been burned down," said Head of Lelateng I Market Ketut Suprapta as quoted by Antara, Sunday, February 5. Initially he received information that the market, which is located in Lelateng Village, Negara District, caught fire after being contacted by local village credit agency officials. Based on the information received, the fire was first discovered by I Ketut Teduh, a market guard while walking around checking security. He saw a fire accompanied by smoke at Ketut Kartama's kiosk at around 20.30 WITA. Seeing the smoke getting thicker, he shouted for help. Residents around the market who came were trying to extinguish the fire, but the fire quickly grew and engulfed the surrounding kiosks. Jembrana Police Operations Section Head Commissioner I Putu Ngurah Riasa said, to find out the cause of the fire, his party was waiting for the results of the crime scene investigation from a joint team from the Jembrana Police and the Bali Police. "To extinguish the fire, apart from five fire engines from the Jembrana Regency Government, the Jembrana Police also dispatched a water canon car," he said. Budi, one of the traders, admitted that he had lost hundreds of millions of rupiah as a result of the market fire incident. "For all traders, the loss must be billions of rupiah. That's just from the value of our merchandise, not the building that caught fire," he said. Meanwhile, Head of Lelateng Village, Gede Wariana, explained that the market does not yet have a hydrant well as a source of water in the event of a fire accident. "The nearest hydrant well is at Dalem Lelateng Temple which is about 300 meters from the market," he said.