Fire in a Woodpile in Monano Village, North Gorontalo, is Suspected to be Caused by a Cigarette Butt

Gorontalo Police Directorate of Samapta personnel put out a fire in the area of the Monano Village wood processing company, Monano District, North Gorontalo Regency, Gorontalo Province. (Photo: ANTARA)

Gorontalo - The Gorontalo Police stated that a fire in a pile of wood at a wood processing company in Monano Village, Monano, North Gorontalo, was allegedly triggered by cigarette butts that were thrown away carelessly.

Director of Samapta Gorontalo Police, Police Commissioner General of the Police Satrya Perdana Panuntung Tarung Binti in Gorontalo, Sunday, said based on initial information, the fire occurred on Saturday, July 25, 2026 at around 12.15 Wita and the fire quickly spread.

"After receiving the information, we deployed the Forest and Land Fire Disaster Management Unit (Pammat) to support the personnel of the North Gorontalo Police and the fire brigade," he said as reported by ANTARA, Sunday, July 26.

He explained that the burning object was a pile of wood jabon that had been cut with an estimated area of about two hectares.

As support for handling in the region, the Samapta Directorate deployed nine Pammat personnel at 16.35 Wita who arrived at the location at around 18.15 Wita.

Upon arrival at the location, the team coordinated with the North Gorontalo Police Chief, Monano Police Chief, Military Rayon Command (Koramil), fire brigade, and company management to divide the extinguishing sector.

The joint personnel then sprayed and blocked the fire so that it did not spread to other wood piles and secured the location of the incident.

In the operation, officers deployed one unit of the Samapta forest and land fire tactical car, two units of the Brimob water cannon car, two units of the local government fire truck, two units of the company's water tank car, and two units of the excavator.

According to Satrya, the large amount of flammable wood material and the wind blowing at the location made the extinguishing process quite difficult.

Until 02.30 Wita, the extinguishing process was still ongoing and continued with cooling until all the fire points were extinguished.

After the fire was extinguished, the police set up a police line and carried out an investigation of the crime scene by the Inafis team of the North Gorontalo Police.

Based on the results of the crime scene investigation, the cause of the fire was allegedly from cigarette butts that were thrown carelessly.

Satrya said there were no casualties in the incident. Meanwhile, the material losses suffered by the company are still being recorded.

"With this incident, we appeal to the public not to throw cigarette butts carelessly or burn garbage or land without supervision, and turn off the power supply and electronic equipment that is not used," he said.