Fires can happen anytime, and anywhere. From uninhabited forests to crowded big cities, including Jakarta. The Special Capital Region of Jakarta or commonly referred to as DKI Jakarta. Jakarta is the province with the highest population density level in Indonesia. As of June 2021, records from the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration and the Ministry of Home Affairs show that Jakarta's density level is at 16,937 people/km2. From an economic point of view, this number could be a good thing. However, when viewed from the aspect of land availability, this in fact raises its own polemic.

On February 1, 2022, a massive fire destroyed 100 houses in West Jakarta. Unmitigated, the fire occurred at 2 in the morning. How come up to 100 houses? Of course, because they are close together. Not surprising, actually. As the province with the highest density level, the fire rate in Jakarta is also high. From January 1 to April 27, there were 489 fire cases recorded in Jakarta, scorching around 48,000 m2 of the area with losses reaching 77 billion rupiahs. Through this article, we will know more about the potential, prevention, and control of fires in the metropolitan area, of Jakarta.

What could be the potential fires?

From the point of view of the object of disaster, fires in Jakarta most often occur in housing. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), in 2020, there were 1898 fires with housing as the object. This figure represents 60.13% of the total fire objects in Jakarta.

^{Figure 1. Fire Frequency by Object in DKI Jakarta Province in 2020}

The high number of fires in housing is not a surprising thing, considering its population density. In addition, data from BPS also shows that the majority of the causes of fires are electrical shorts. From 2015 to 2020, electrical short circuits have always been the cause of most fires in Jakarta.

^{Figure 2. Frequency of Fires by Cause in DKI Jakarta Province 2015-2020}

Even now, fires in Jakarta are still dominated by electrical shorts as the cause. As of April 27, of the 489 fire cases in Jakarta during 2022, 327 were caused by electrical short circuits, 58 were caused by gas leakage, and 23 were caused by burning garbage.

Can fires be prevented?

Of course, it can be prevented. Basically, most fires are caused by human error. Therefore, we can prevent or minimize the occurrence of fires. These precautions depend on the variation in the cause of the fire. To prevent fires from short circuits, avoid stacking cables or chargers in the same power source. Make sure they don't overlap and remove them when not in use. To prevent gas fires, there are several things we can do. First, make sure the gas is stored in a place with good air circulation. Do not allow gas storage containers to have the potential for temperature rise or heat build-up to prevent them from exploding. Second, check the state of the stove and gas before cooking. This is important for the early detection of gas leakage.

When the power is out, we often use candles instead of lamps. To prevent a candle fire, keep flammable objects away from where you put the candle. In addition to candles, burning trash can also be a trigger for fires. Especially if the garbage contains plastics, the fire can spread rapidly. To prevent this from happening, avoid burning trash near buildings. For smokers, make sure to dispose of your cigarette correctly. Even if there is no special trash can for cigarettes, make sure there is no smolder before throwing them in the trash.

If the fire is unavoidable, what are the steps to deal with it?

There are times when the fire is unavoidable. At times like this, the fire protection system in a building plays a crucial role. The fire protection system itself is divided into two, namely active and passive. An active fire system is a system that operates manually or automatically to extinguish a fire. This system includes sprinkler systems, hydrants, smoke detectors, fire alarms, Portable Fire Extinguishers (PFEs), etc. On the other hand, a passive fire protection system is part of a building structure designed in such a way as to inhibit the rate of fire spread when a fire cannot be extinguished with an active fire protection system. At this time, the evacuation of building occupants is the most important thing, and it is the passive fire protection system that facilitates the evacuation process. Included in the means of a passive fire protection system are compartmentalization, fire-rated doors (or walls), etc.

In addition to knowing the prevention and control of fires, it is important for us to know the contact of the fire brigade. For Indonesia, the emergency number for the fire brigade is 113.

Writer: Fitri Endrasari - Fire Engineer Ignis Fire & Risk