Hospital staff wheel in an injured survivor of the Kosambi fireworks factory fire on Thursday (26/10) for treatment at the BUN Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Kosambi, Tangerang regency, Banten. The hospital is treating 16 survivors of the fire in its intensive care unit.
Fitri, 18, an employee of PT Panca Buana Cahaya Sukses in Kosambi, Tangerang regency, Banten, was shocked when she saw flames emerge from the firework production room on Thursday at around09:30 a.m. The fire emerged from the room, which had steel walls, and quickly set ablaze a 500-square-meter inner courtyard.
With no time to think, Fitri ran around trying to find safety. “It was impossible for me to go inside [the building], because the fire was outside and it looked as though it was racing inside,” said Fitri from her hospital bed in a treatment ward at BUN Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Tangerang regency.
The 65-by-40 meter factory, which is shaped like a U, has an open area in the middle. Near the front gate is a storage room where the finished fireworks are kept. It was here that Fitri believes the fire started.
“It was impossible for us to leave through the front gate, because it was locked and there was a blazing fire,” Fitri said.
The other employees were running around wildly from panic and confusion. The employees inside the factory were trapped and could not save themselves. It was these employees that were later found to comprise the majority of the fire victims.
Fitri, meanwhile, ran towards a bak mandi (water vessel) – measuring 1.5 x 1.5 meters that holds water used to wash equipment along a 1-meter wall – that was situated in an area to the right [of the front gate]. “There was an employee who told me to quickly get into the water tub," she said. “I jumped in quickly,” she said.
Four other factory workers were already in the water vessel in an attempt to save themselves. Fitria Dian, 23, was one of them. The migrant from Ngawi regency, East Java, had been working in the factory’s firework packaging department since last week, along with Fitri.
Fitri and Dian, as well as the other employees that had gotten into the water vessel, had to submerge their heads underwater to avoid the fire. Occasionally, they would lift their heads above the water to breathe. After more than half an hour in the vessel, Fitri stepped out.
“If we stay here, we won’t be saved,” Fitri said to her colleagues. She took the initiative of climbing the wall next to the water vessel, using a toe-sized hole she found in the unpainted, raw concrete wall.
Above the wall was an asbestos roof. After climbing the 3-meter-high wall and breaking the asbestos roof panel, Fitri climbed down a ladder that local residents had propped up outside to help rescue survivors.
There were no serious burns on Fitri’s body, except for a 4-centimeter wound on her right hand. However, she had difficulty breathing because she had inadvertently swallowed a lot of water while she was submerged in the water vessel.
Rosidah, another factory employee who also hid in the vessel, admitted that she was not able to climb the wall like her two colleagues. The heavy-set 51-year-old woman managed to get out of the 1-meter-deep tub with help from the Mobile Brigade (Brimob).
The brigade’s arrival at the location was unplanned. One hundred West Kalimantan Brimob personnel, who had been deployed to assist the Jakarta Police, had been temporarily staying in a multi-purpose room located not far from the fire, and around 4 kilometers from the Teluk Naga Police station.
When the fire broke out, the Brimob personnel, together with local residents, rushed to help the victims, breaking down sections of the factory wall so the employees trapped inside were able to escape.
Through fire
Different from the three victims who had jumped into the water vessel, Lina, 49, actually ran through the fire to save herself. In a hoarse voice and through burned lips, wincing as she tried to withstand the pain of her injuries, Lina said that her mind went blank when she saw the fire blazing in front of her. She just wanted to run as far away as she could from the fire that seemed to be chasing her.
“Once outside the factory gate, I asked the police to carry me to the hospital,” said Lina, who had been working at the factory for only three days. Burns covered almost the entire length of her right arm, the soles of both feet and half of her face.
BUN Maternity and Children’s Hospital medical director Elliyanah said that 39 victims had been brought since Thursday morning to the hospital, which is located 2 kilometers from the location of the fire. The hospital could not treat seven of the victims, and were referred to the Tangerang regional general hospital (RSUD). “They had burns covering 50 percent of their bodies, and one person had burns of 90 percent,” said Elliyanah.
Another 16 people are still in intensive care at BUN hospital to treat burns covering 40 percent of their bodies. Eight women and eight men are being treated in two separate rooms.
Jakarta Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Purwadi Arianto has visited the fire victims at BUN hospital.
Elementary school graduate
Aliani, 29, the elder sister of patient Fatimah, 15, said her younger sister had only just graduated from elementary school and had started junior high. However, three weeks ago, she refused to go to school anymore and chose to work at the newly opened fireworks factory.
“My sister stopped school immediately and started working at the factory,” said Aliani, who was interviewed at the Tangerang regional general hospital.
Aliani said her sister was drawn to choose work over school after she received information from their neighbors that a new factory had opened up that needed workers.
Aliani said Fatimah had told her that she was initially paid Rp 55,000 a day. In her second week of work, Fatimah’s pay was cut to Rp 40,000 a day. In week three, Fatimah received Rp 20,000 to Rp 25,000 a day. A few days ago, Fatimah told her sister that she wanted to quit her job because the pay was low.
Suprio, 35, said his wife had started working at the factory a month ago.
“My wife’s injuries are very bad. She has burns all over her body,” said Suprio, who accompanied his wife to the emergency room before she went into surgery. “My wife is still able to communicate, though she says very little. She says she is in pain, exhausted, and her hands and feet feel stiff,” said Suprio who rents a house on SMP road near the factory.
