Thursday, April 14, 2011

INDONESIA - Fires galore

Jakarta fires are a social time bomb, the daily Kompas. In 2010, municipal authorities have registered 708, or nearly two a day, and last week, no fewer than eleven. Each year, dozens of people die in these fires and hundreds are left homeless. Firefighters say they are struggling to respond quickly because many streets are crowded and too narrow for their trucks can defeat them.

In addition, the 1404 fire hydrants in the city, 536 are broken and 31 were stolen. Firefighters are understaffed: 3300 for ten million inhabitants spread over 660 km2. As for their armada, a real disaster: they have only 45 trucks, all older than twenty years.

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