Fire At SDN 2 Anjir Kapuas, Central Kalimantan, Stirs Residents, Learning Equipment Is Sold Out

The condition of SDN 2 Anjir Serapat Timur, East Kapuas, after a fire, Wednesday (22/6/2022). ANTARA/All Ikhwan

KALTENG - Anjir Serapat Timur 2 Public Elementary School (SDN) in Handil Gembira RT 6, Kapuas Regency, Central Kalimantan (Kalteng), caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday, June 22.

"The school fire incident in Handil Gembira, East Kapuas District, was around 01.30 WIB this morning," said Kapuas Timur Police Chief, Iptu Eko Sutrisno when contacted, Wednesday, June 22.

According to him, the school building that was damaged by the fire consisted of four rooms, consisting of a fifth grade room, a fourth grade room, a teacher's room, a library room, and an empty, unused kindergarten building. In addition, there was also a house on fire that had no occupants.

"Members have visited the scene, secured evidence, asked for statements from witnesses and carried out the investigation process," he said.

The fire occurred when the residents were fast asleep, causing a stir in the surrounding community. A large fire engulfed the school building.

Efforts to extinguish the fire were carried out by the local community, together with joint firefighter volunteers. The fire quickly spread to the school building.

The fire also devoured the equipment in the school building, such as tables, chairs, computers and others. Nothing was salvaged from the burning rooms.

Many of the buildings are made of wood, so the fire quickly burned the existing school buildings. The fire was extinguished by residents and assisted by volunteer firefighters approximately two hours later.

"According to the witness, the origin of the fire is thought to have come from a fifth grade room and a temporary assumption is that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit," he said.

Eko appealed to the public to always be careful of the threat of fire hazard. The public is asked to always check items or conditions that can trigger a fire, such as electric current connections in the house, stove fires, insect repellent, candles and so on.