Firefighters Died In Warehouse Fire In Banjarmasin

The joint team when extinguishing the flames that devoured the plastic warehouse on Jalan Belitung Darat, Kuin Cerucuk Village, West Banjarmasin District, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Sunday (3/11/2024). (ANTARA/HO-Relawan Damkar)

BANJARMASIN - The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Banjarmasin City, South Kalimantan (Kalsel) reported that a firefighter (Damkar), Muhinidin (22), died in a 12-hour fire that scorched a plastic warehouse in Kuin Cerucuk Village.

Head of BPBD Banjarmasin Husni Thamrin in Banjarmasin, Sunday, said the intense fire broke out on Saturday (2/10) night at around 22.15 WITA, officers struggled to tame the flames until noon this morning at around 11.00 WITA.

"Officers have been in charge since the beginning of the incident. In fact, officers handled it for about 12 hours, because the status of the fire was active for quite a long time," he said.

Husni said the firefighters died in the hospital after being evacuated from the fire site during the fire. The large flames and thick smoke made it difficult for officers to reach the hotspots.

"Officers have difficulty, because the burning is made of plastic and broken goods, so the fire spreads quickly and is difficult to control," he said.

He explained that although the road access to the scene was about 10 meters, officers were difficult to handle due to hotspots that were quite dangerous if not handled carefully.

Husni said the cause of the fire was not known for sure, and the number of losses could not be estimated, because joint officers were still carrying out the investigation stages, including other consequences that were still being investigated, because the active fire status for 12 hours caused officers to wait until the fire was completely extinguished.

Because the flames were quite great, he said, joint officers of various elements came from outside the city of Banjarmasin, including from Central Kalimantan Province which borders South Kalimantan and also helped firefighters.

Husni said that during the handling of the fire from last night until this afternoon, there were around 200 joint officers who took turns to tame the red rooster. From reports in the field, the fire broke out again quite a lot when the weather began to light up.

"Although the status of the fire was still active until this afternoon, it was not as bad as a few hours ago. Joint officers immediately investigated the cause of the fire and other potential impacts," he said.