On Thursday, 21st March 2024, a fire broke out at the Lazada and SiCepat warehouses located in the Pesing Poglar area of Cengkareng, West Jakarta, around 10 PM local time. According to West Jakarta’s Firefighter Department, extinguishing the fire proved challenging due to the abundance of flammable materials in both buildings.
“As of 22nd March the Jakarta firefighters are still actively engaged in firefighting efforts, deploying 18 units and 90 personnel,” stated the official account of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Fire and Rescue Service on social media on Friday, 22nd March 2024.
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The fire is currently suspected to have originated from a spark from an electric cable, ultimately igniting the pallets at the base. Syarifudin, Head of the Operations Section for the West Jakarta Firefighter and Rescue Sub-Department, highlighted three primary challenges encountered during the firefighting process.
“Firstly, the distance to the nearest water source is considerable, making it challenging to access. Secondly, the presence of various plastic items piled up complicates extinguishing efforts due to the extensive area they cover,” explained Syarif, as reported by Antara on Friday, 22nd March 2024.
The fire initially broke out at the SiCepat Warehouse and subsequently spread to the Lazada Warehouse, engulfing a combined area of over 300 meters. As of Friday, 22nd March 2024, several active fires are still yet to be fully extinguished. The firefighting team in West Jakarta confirmed that no fatalities resulted from the fire outbreak.
Fortunately, the fire brigade successfully contained the blaze, preventing it from reaching residential areas in the Cengkareng locality. While the total extent of material losses from the Lazada and SiCepat warehouses fires has yet to be confirmed, preliminary estimates suggest they amount to billions of rupiah.
