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200 Homes Burned in Cap Go Meh Fire
Aidi Yursal | February 07, 2012

A resident tries to extinguish a fire that burned his house in the ethnic Chinese area of Tegal Sari in Medan, North Sumatra, on Monday. Police said the fire destroyed 82 homes and could have been caused by candles set up for the Cap Go Meh festival. (Antara Photo/Septianda Perdana) A resident tries to extinguish a fire that burned his house in the ethnic Chinese area of Tegal Sari in Medan, North Sumatra, on Monday. Police said the fire destroyed 82 homes and could have been caused by candles set up for the Cap Go Meh festival. (Antara Photo/Septianda Perdana)
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Medan, North Sumatra. A fire damaged at least 200 homes in a predominantly ethnic Chinese neighborhood on Monday as residents prepared to celebrate the Cap Go Meh festival. No injuries were reported.

Sianturi, an officer from the Medan Police detectives unit, said that police suspected the fire originated from faulty wiring or candles set up by residents of the Tegal Sari ward in preparation for the festival, which celebrates the 15th day of the lunar calendar.

Soony Firdaus, a local ethnic Chinese figure, said that the local Chinese-Indonesian association would provide aid for the affected victims, who are mainly middle-class ethnic Chinese.

“We are deeply saddened for the disaster affecting the Chinese community, particularly since they are about to celebrate Cap Go Meh,” he said.

The fire started at around 2 p.m. and was not contained until late in the afternoon, by which time at least 10 fire trucks had been deployed to the scene.

Medan Mayor Rahudman Harahap instructed city officials to erect shelters for 200 families who lost their houses and belongings in the fire.

Rahudman said that 82 homes were completely destroyed and the rest were badly burned. The fire also affected a nearby traditional market.

“The city will relocate the victims to a number of locations before we rebuild houses,” the mayor said. He said that the rebuilt neighborhood would utilize better urban planning.

“We will try to provide more access for fire trucks because congested areas like this are prone to fire.”

Local politician Brilian Moktar inspected the scene and said that he had asked individuals to provide temporary shelters for the victims.

Some of the displaced families would be housed on the top floor of a shopping center, Brilian said.

Additional reporting from Antara