Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
[FONT=Helvetica, Arial]Fire razes Central Java market, thousands put out of work
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20061118.G04&irec=4
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Demak
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]A traditional market in the heart of Demak city, some 30 kilometers east of the Central Java capital Semarang, was destroyed by fire Friday, leaving more than 2,500 people without jobs.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] The fire began somewhere near the center of the bustling Bintoro market on Friday morning. Fifteen fire trucks were deployed to the scene, but were unable to prevent the blaze from razing every kiosk and stall in the market.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "We saw fire everywhere. I don't know where it started but it spread so quick and I lost everything," said one of the market vendors, Sulawi.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] Vendors scrambled to save their goods, including breaking down the market walls to ease the access for firefighters. However, most of Bintoro's traders ended up losing all of their merchandise to the flames.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] After firefighters succeeded in bringing the blaze under control, the vendors began the painful process of digging through their destroyed stalls for anything that could be salvaged.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "This market was deliberately burned down. **** those who did it. How could they do this?" cried one woman as she stood over her destroyed goods. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] A fruit vendor, Abdul Aziz, wondered what he would do now to support his family. "There was nothing that we could save. I don't know what I will do tomorrow."[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] The market was built in the 1970s. Traders say that when it was built, a two-by-two-meter kiosk in a strategic location only cost Rp 6,000 to purchase. Now such kiosks sell for between Rp 40 and 50 million.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] In 2004, the Demak regency administration, then led by Endang Setyaningdyah, announced plans to renovate Bintoro. Vendors opposed the plan, saying the market did not need renovation and expressing concern the cost of kiosks in the new market would be drastically more expensive. Eventually the vendors were able to derail the plan.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] Since shooting down the administration's planned renovation, traders have been concerned that attempts might be made to burn them out of the market. This fear was so real some of the vendors began taking much of their merchandise home with them at night.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] While the current administration, under new Regent Tafta Zani, has never indicated it planned to pursue the market renovation idea, some of the traders are convinced Friday's fire was deliberately set to clear out Bintoro.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "It's not possible the fire was caused by an electrical short-circuit. The electricity was still off when the fire started in the middle of the market. So this could have been an act of arson," one vendor said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] There were fires at the market in 1993 and 1994, but they were relatively small blazes that only damaged small sections of Bintoro.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] Police were searching through the destroyed market Friday but have yet to announce the cause of the fire.[/FONT]
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20061118.G04&irec=4
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Demak
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]A traditional market in the heart of Demak city, some 30 kilometers east of the Central Java capital Semarang, was destroyed by fire Friday, leaving more than 2,500 people without jobs.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] The fire began somewhere near the center of the bustling Bintoro market on Friday morning. Fifteen fire trucks were deployed to the scene, but were unable to prevent the blaze from razing every kiosk and stall in the market.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "We saw fire everywhere. I don't know where it started but it spread so quick and I lost everything," said one of the market vendors, Sulawi.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] Vendors scrambled to save their goods, including breaking down the market walls to ease the access for firefighters. However, most of Bintoro's traders ended up losing all of their merchandise to the flames.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] After firefighters succeeded in bringing the blaze under control, the vendors began the painful process of digging through their destroyed stalls for anything that could be salvaged.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "This market was deliberately burned down. **** those who did it. How could they do this?" cried one woman as she stood over her destroyed goods. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] A fruit vendor, Abdul Aziz, wondered what he would do now to support his family. "There was nothing that we could save. I don't know what I will do tomorrow."[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] The market was built in the 1970s. Traders say that when it was built, a two-by-two-meter kiosk in a strategic location only cost Rp 6,000 to purchase. Now such kiosks sell for between Rp 40 and 50 million.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] In 2004, the Demak regency administration, then led by Endang Setyaningdyah, announced plans to renovate Bintoro. Vendors opposed the plan, saying the market did not need renovation and expressing concern the cost of kiosks in the new market would be drastically more expensive. Eventually the vendors were able to derail the plan.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] Since shooting down the administration's planned renovation, traders have been concerned that attempts might be made to burn them out of the market. This fear was so real some of the vendors began taking much of their merchandise home with them at night.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] While the current administration, under new Regent Tafta Zani, has never indicated it planned to pursue the market renovation idea, some of the traders are convinced Friday's fire was deliberately set to clear out Bintoro.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] "It's not possible the fire was caused by an electrical short-circuit. The electricity was still off when the fire started in the middle of the market. So this could have been an act of arson," one vendor said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] There were fires at the market in 1993 and 1994, but they were relatively small blazes that only damaged small sections of Bintoro.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica] Police were searching through the destroyed market Friday but have yet to announce the cause of the fire.[/FONT]