Two Dead, Service Interrupted

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

An ambulance is prepared at the Cyber Building yard after the fire in the Mampang Prapatan area, South Jakarta, Thursday (2/12/2021).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Two people died and another was injured in a fire that hit Cyber 1 Building on Jalan Kuningan Barat Raya, Mampang district, South Jakarta, Thursday (2/12/2021). The fire also caused disruption to public services.

The Center for Data and Information of the Jakarta Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) at 18:22 reported that the incident occurred at 12:34. The process of extinguishing the fire took from 12.:41 until 15:26.

At the time of the incident, white smoke billowed out of the lobby on the ground floor of the 11-story building. “Two victims were found unconscious and have been taken to the hospital. Meanwhile, one person was found dead," said Sudrajat, Platoon Commander for the Mampang Fire Department, at the location.

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The victim who died at the scene was identified as a man named Seto, an 18-year-old technician from Cimanggis, Depok City, West Java. A second victim, Redzuan (17), also from Depok, initially fainted but later died in the Mampang Regional General Hospital (RSUD). A third retrieved from the fire, Bagus (20), is now being treated at Mampang Hospital.

Sudrajat explained that the victims likely succumbed to smoke inhalation as there were no burns on their bodies. The fire team deployed 22 trucks and 100 personnel.

Securities company Indo Premier Sekuritas, for example, apologized to its customers via Twitter because its services were affected by the fire.

The fire also disrupted the services of the companies and institutions that kept their data center in the building. Securities company Indo Premier Sekuritas, for example, apologized to its customers via Twitter because its services were affected by the fire.

The Ajaib investment platform conveyed the disruption of transaction services caused by the incident and the Jakarta BPBD also announced that the Jakarta Siaga 112 service center was temporarily unable to be contacted because of the fire in the Cyber 1 Building.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Employees queue to re-enter after the fire at the Cyber Building in the Mampang Prapatan area, South Jakarta, Thursday (2/12/2021).

The Indonesian Stock Exchange Authority (BEI) stated that although there were two securities companies that were affected, activities on the IDX were safe. “The fire occurred in one of the IDX work areas that is in a separate location from the IDX Building in the SCBD [Sudirman Central Business District]. This incident has no impact on the IDX data center and trading operations are running normally," said IDX Corporate Secretary Yulinto Aji Sadono.

Meanwhile, stock investors were affected because there were securities companies using the data center in the building. "There are two brokers affected by this fire and one broker who is self-suspending. Everything else is running normally," said Laksono Widodo, IDX Director of Trading and Member Regulations.

According to Laksono, all securities companies that are members of the stock exchange must own a data center. “Some are connected quickly, some take time. It depends on the readiness of each stock exchange member,” he said.

Trading on the IDX went on as usual throughout yesterday's trading. The Composite Stock Price Index (JCI) closed up 1.17 percent to 6,583. The gain was supported by the increase in stock prices of banks with large capitalization. The transaction value reached Rp 12.74 trillion (US$884.5 million).

Cable fire

The fire squad needed plenty of water and breathing equipment to search for victims and clear the smoke, which was brought under control after the team broke through a window on the second floor.

"We suspect this [incident] was triggered by a cable catching fire. The closed space led to incomplete combustion, causing very thick smoke. The smoke looked for an empty room and came out of the lobby of the building,” said Sudrajat.

If a basic fire detection and suppression system was in place, the incident could have been brought under control immediately.

He suspected that the server room on the second floor did not have a smoke detector or special fire extinguisher. If a basic fire detection and suppression system was in place, the incident could have been brought under control immediately.

Until around 5:30 p.m., many employees who worked in Cyber 1 Building were still trying to save their belongings after being allowed in by the manager of each floor. One of the employees, Sendi, who works on the fifth floor of the Cyber Building, came to his office after receiving information there had been a fire.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

A view of the Cyber building after the fire in the Mampang Prapatan area, South Jakarta, Thursday (2/12/2021).

He said the second floor of the office functioned as a server center for various internet and application service providers. “On that floor, the room is specifically for computer servers. The room temperature is maintained, it must be kept cold,” he said. (ERK/JOE/MKN)

(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswoko).