The victims were identified as the owner of the warehouse, Suryan; his wife, Nelly Lisayanti; their daughters, Zahra and Alma; and niece, Endah, head of the Bekasi City Fire Brigade and Rescue Agency (Gulkarmat), Aceng Solehudin, said here.
The fire broke out at the furniture warehouse around 6:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday, and firefighters arrived at the scene at 6:59 a.m., he said.
Twelve fire trucks were deployed to fight the blaze, which was finally extinguished around 11:06 a.m., he said, adding that a short circuit may have triggered the deadly warehouse fire.
The city of Bekasi is part of Jakarta's buffer zone. The metropolitan city of Jakarta has been witness to several deadly and catastrophic fires in the past three years.
On the evening of April 18, 2024, for instance, seven people reportedly died in a fire at a shop building in the Mampang Prapatan neighborhood of South Jakarta.
Their bodies were found inside a room on the second story of the shop building. The fire also injured five other persons.
On the evening of March 3, 2023, a major fire at the Plumpang Pertamina Depot in Koja sub-district, North Jakarta, claimed 33 lives.
Another fire on the evening of October 22, 2022, razed several homes in Pademangan sub-district, North Jakarta, and left three people dead.
According to the Pademangan police, the fire claimed the lives of a 28-year-old woman and her two children, aged 10 and 5.
In another incident early on the morning of February 26, 2022, three persons were killed in a fire that gutted two buildings on Swadaya Street in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta.
The victims comprised a 37-year-old woman, a three-year-old son, and a three-month-old toddler, according to the South Jakarta Fire Department.
Translator: Ilham K, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
