Gulkarmat Says Why The Brebes Rice Stall 'Blessing Friday' Is The Only Building Surviving The Big Fire In Simprug

This shop went viral after surviving a fire at Simprug Golf, South Jakarta, Wednesday (24/8/2022). ANTARA/Luthfia Miranda Putri

JAKARTA - The South Jakarta Administration of Fire and Rescue (Gulkarmat) Sub-dept. said that compartmentization was one of the factors that caused the stalls at Simprug Golf II, South Grogol, to not catch fire, even though hundreds of other houses were burnt down.

"Because it is compartmentalized, it is protected from potential fire propagation. Look at the building that protects the warteg, how is the construction of the building," said South Jakarta Gulkarmat Sub-dept. Piket Officer, Deni Andreas, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, August 24.

Deni explained that fire compartmentalization is the boundary or separation of buildings based on the level of fire resistance in the building.

The shop building named "Warung Brebes Pesona Dua Putri" is made of light or heavy bricks on all sides of the house which are fire-resistant.

So these factors affect that the shop is still firmly protected even though the house around it is on fire, he said.

Unlike the others, the hundreds of houses burned down because there was no compartmentalization or not all of them were made of light brick (hebel) and most of them used semi-permanent materials such as wood.

According to Deni, one of the solutions if they want to rebuild houses is that residents must understand the science of compartmentalization in house construction.

Residents must create a compartment for the building itself so that if there is a source of fire, the house can be protected by itself, he continued.

"So if you want to build another village to be safe from big fires, make sure the more compartments the better the building," he said.