Fatal Jakarta fire: Company boss arrested, experts call for tighter safety standards as details of lapses emerge

JAKARTA: Jakarta governor Pramono Anung has ordered the re-inspection of all buildings’ certificate of proper function in the Indonesian capital, as experts urged tighter fire safety standards and an audit of high-rises after a blaze killed 22 people on Tuesday (Dec 9).

Jakarta police have also arrested Michael Wisnu Wardana, the managing director of Terra Drone Indonesia, which rented the seven-storey building where the blaze broke out. 

Michael has been formally named a suspect and was arrested on Wednesday night, news outlets reported.

He has been charged under articles in Indonesia’s Criminal Code that relate to acts resulting in a fire, negligence resulting in a fire, and negligence resulting in death, said Roby Saputra, chief of Central Jakarta Police’s criminal investigation unit.

The building owner will also be questioned, Roby said, as reported by Kompas. The building owner has not been named. 

The Terra Drone fire started on the ground floor of the building and is believed to have originated from a drone battery being charged in the warehouse. Building occupants were forced to flee to the rooftop, where they were rescued using makeshift ladders. 

All 22 people who died were employees of the drone service provider, and most of the deaths occurred because victims ran out of oxygen while trapped in the thick smoke. 

Terra Drone Indonesia has said the victims will receive all entitlements under Indonesian labour regulations, and the company will also extend condolence payments to their families, Jakarta Globe reported.

Meanwhile, the re-inspection of Jakarta’s buildings will take place over the coming weeks and focus on non-high-rise buildings that have sprung up in older areas and frequently escape regulatory oversight, Pramono told reporters on Wednesday. 

“In the coming weeks, we will immediately re-inspect all existing buildings. The problems often arise not from tall buildings with complete administrative records, but from buildings that are ‘growing’,” he said, as reported by news outlet Detik.

Low-rise buildings are up to four storeys' high and usually do not have elevators, while mid-rise buildings are five to eight storeys' high with one elevator zone. High-rises range from nine to 50 storeys with two or three elevator zones. 

Many buildings in Jakarta have been found to lack adequate fire-safety systems, officials have said previously. This had also been the case with the Terra Drone building in Central Jakarta.

During a visit to the site on Wednesday, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said the building had no evacuation route.

“If we look at what happened, the fire started on the first floor and there was no evacuation route. Maybe they had fire extinguishers, but there was no time. I don’t know if there were sprinklers installed,” Tito told reporters, as quoted by TVOne.

The Jakarta government should audit high-rise buildings, especially in commercial centres, to prevent similar incidents, said Nirwono Joga, an urban planning expert at Trisakti University.

“I’m sure many buildings will be found without proper evacuation routes,” Nirwono told CNA Indonesia.

Even where evacuation routes exist, he said, they tend to be used by occupants as storage space.

“In addition, buildings are not equipped with adequate firefighting devices, nor do they conduct regular fire-response drills for workers and occupants,” Nirwono added.

GAPS IN ROUTINE INSPECTIONS AND MORE

Yayat Supriatna, a lecturer in regional and urban planning at Trisakti University, said the government has laid out technical fire safety standards under Public Works and Public Housing Ministerial Regulation No. 26/PRT/M/2008.

The regulation spells out requirements for fire alarms, heat detectors and the places where they should be installed, said Yayat. It also mandates evacuation routes and specifies where fire hydrants, sprinklers and fire extinguishers should be placed. 

“From various fire incidents in Jakarta, it’s clear that many buildings still lack proper evacuation routes,” he said.

In January, for instance, the authorities found lapses after a fire killed eight people and left 14 others missing in Glodok Plaza in West Jakarta.

According to Satriadi Gunawan, then-head of the Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency, Glodok Plaza did not meet fire-safety requirements including having proper fire extinguishers and evacuation routes.

As of January 2025, 361 out of 1,228 high-rise buildings in Jakarta had yet to meet fire-safety standards, Satriadi said at the time, as reported by news outlet Kompas.

Among 1,381 medium- and low-rise buildings, 333 were found to be non-compliant, he said.

Yayat said city authorities should also scrutinise building materials to ensure they are fire-resistant, especially for structural elements and partitions.

“Many buildings in Jakarta are wrapped in glass façades with limited ventilation or (lack) emergency windows for aesthetic reasons,” he said.

“When a fire breaks out, the smoke accumulates inside with nowhere to escape.”

Nirwono said the city government should already be able to classify which buildings pose the highest fire risk. 

But if the Jakarta government lacks specialists, he said, it can collaborate with professional associations or academics to carry out audits or inspections.

“Focus first on buildings where people live — residential towers, for instance — as a preventive measure,” Nirwono said.

Tito said new buildings must go through the Building Approval (PBG) process issued by local governments. For PBG issuance, a Certificate of Proper Function (SLF) is needed and this entails an inspection by the Fire Department for safety features such as extinguishers, evacuation routes and sprinklers.

In practice, however, there are gaps, including the absence of routine inspections once a building is operational, Tito said. “I asked around — there’s no regulation requiring regular inspections, say once a year or every two years,” he said.

Nirwono said such gaps pose a safety hazard. 

After a PBG is granted, he noted, the actual construction may not match the approved blueprints.

“Or the building may match the plans, but its use may differ due to budget limitations,” he said.

“For example, in shophouses or office buildings, the plans might include evacuation routes, but these often end up cluttered with goods that obstruct movement during emergencies.”

NEW RISKS POSED BY LITHIUM, CAR BATTERIES

In light of the Terra Drone case apparently originating from a drone battery, Nirwono said the classification of business types for building permits also matters.

“That means companies storing such batteries carry inherent fire risks. And battery fires require different extinguishing techniques than regular fire extinguishers,” Nirwono said. Fire extinguishers are known in Indonesia as APAR.

He added that many places store such batteries — phone shops, for instance, or electric-vehicle showrooms.

“Are there training programmes for putting out battery fires? Are firefighters prepared for these scenarios? This is still a new skill set in Indonesia,” he said.

Yayat said the Terra Drone fire also shows the need for a clear separation of building functions — whether a facility serves as a warehouse or an office.

Some businesses handle sensitive and flammable materials such as gas cylinders, lithium batteries or drone batteries, all of which require special storage at specific temperatures.

“The Proper Function Certificate should also assess how a building is used — as an office or as a storage area. If functions overlap, they should be separated, especially when flammable materials are involved,” he said.