September 3, 2025 | 07:09 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Fires broke out in several buildings and vehicles throughout Bandung, West Java, on August 28, 2025, during a protest criticizing excessive privileges for members of the House of Representatives (DPR).
Soni Bakhtiyar, the Head of the Bandung City Fire and Rescue Agency, stated that his teams faced difficulty in promptly extinguishing the spreading fires. "We received several threats on social media and were hindered when we tried to enter the fire area," he told Tempo on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.
Messages sent to the Fire and Rescue Agency’s social media accounts urged them to abandon their duties. Soni expressed disappointment over these messages, clarifying that the agency’s sole purpose is to provide rescue and extinguishment for the sake of humanity.
Soni recalled one of the messages they received: “Let the fire burn. Don't put it out until everything is destroyed.” These messages appeared both before and during the demonstration.
According to Tempo’s observations, several buildings, including the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) residences on Diponegoro Street, were set ablaze during the protest. This building is situated directly across from the West Java Regional Representatives Council building, the primary location of the demonstration.
Additional fires were reported in the vicinity, engulfing a restaurant and a private bank office. Billboards and a large videotron screen located beneath the Pasteur-Surapati overpass, across from Taman Cikapayang Dago, also caught fire.
Soni confirmed that his department had prepositioned fire trucks ahead of the event. One truck was stationed inside the West Java Regional Representatives Council building, six units at the Gedung Sate, and several more at other sites. The fleet had been on standby since August 25.
A total of 14 fire trucks were on standby within a 1-kilometer radius of the main demonstration site. "We could only enter the fire locations after the crowd was dispersed by the Indonesian Army and police," Soni noted.
Even then, firefighters struggled to reach the fires as demonstrators blocked road access. This forced them to take alternative routes through residential streets. Firefighters did not risk forcing their way through the crowd, as they had seen fire vehicles set ablaze in previous incidents.
A freelance photographer witnessed the MPR residences being set on fire. The photographer recounted seeing an individual take a motorcycle with “Babinsa” written on its fuel tank, which was parked in the yard, and set it on fire at approximately 4:32 p.m.
A group of looters then entered the residences, removing various items like mattresses, wardrobes, and refrigerators, which were later set on fire on the street at 4:55 p.m.
About five minutes later, a fire ignited in the center of the mess while people were still carrying items out to burn. The fire grew rapidly over the next half-hour. "Not a single person tried to extinguish it," the photographer said.
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