114 Fires Happened In Padang Since The Beginning Of 2022, 24 Due To People Burning Garbage

Illustration of a fire that was triggered by people burning garbage. (Between)

PADANG - A total of 114 fires occurred in the city of Padang, West Sumatra from January to the end of May 2022.

Head of Operations and Infrastructure for the Padang City Fire Department, Sutan Hendra, said in Padang, Tuesday, that in May 2022 there had been 27 fires, while in April there were 30 incidents.

Meanwhile in January 2022 there were 15 incidents and 22 incidents in February and 20 fire incidents in March 2022.

"The fires that hit houses occurred 43 times, nine times in markets, restaurants or shops, then 15 fires with electronic objects," he said.

He continued to appeal to residents to be careful of the potential for fires to occur and a number of cases were indeed mostly due to negligence, such as leaving the house in a condition where the gas stove was still installed with the gas regulator.

After that, there were cases of residents who neglected the electrical installation network in their homes which had aged so that they softened and were prone to fire.

"There is also the negligence of turning off the electricity when leaving the house empty, such as returning to the village or others. For electricity networks such as on the ceiling of the house or electronic equipment whose cables have an age limit of use and are the cause of a short circuit," he said.

Meanwhile, land fires occurred 24 times in the local city and this is thought to be due to the scorching heat and residents burning garbage in that location.

"People who burn garbage don't wait until it's finished, so the fire spreads to other places, so land fires occur," he said.

He asked the people of Padang City to be aware of everything that could potentially cause a fire and to prepare fire poison in homes, offices, shops and others for first aid in the event of a fire.

"We also ask residents who pass on the highway if there is a fire engine to be given a road and prioritized because we will do fire fighting," he concluded.