Tangerang prison fire

Police members transferring the bodies of the victims into an ambulance.

The fire started at 01:45 local time, when a small fire occurred in sector C2 of the prison.[10] A prison employee, Iyan Sofyan, heard screams from inside the sector's cells.[11] Several other wardens and guards tried to evacuate the entire sector, but were only able to evacuate 20 inmates.[11] The sector housed inmates being held for drug-related offences and had a capacity for 38 but at least three times that were housed there[12] with a spokeswoman for the ministry's corrections department reporting that 122 individuals were housed in a space for 38.[13]

According to the prison's protocols, the inmates were kept in locked cells, but as the fire spread the prison employees did not manage to unlock every room.[14] All the deaths occurred in the locked cells.[15] Firefighters were alerted of the disaster shortly after, and around 30 fire trucks were deployed. The fire trucks arrived on the scene at 02:00,[16] had the fire under control by around 03:00,[17] and finally extinguished the flames roughly two hours after they began.[18]

Multiple Indonesian officials immediately arrived at the scene. Police chief of Jakarta Inspector-General M. Fadil Imran arrived in the morning and deployed around 150 police, mostly Brimob members, to secure the prison perimeters.[18] Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly and deputy minister Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej followed shortly at around 10 AM local time.[19]

Some of the inmates that were killed during the fire

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, 41 inmates were killed, eight others seriously injured, and 73 lightly injured.[5][4] The injured victims were brought to the Sitanala Hospital and the Tangerang Regency General Hospital.[1] A day after the fire, three critically injured victims died in hospital, bringing the death toll to 44.[20] The death toll rose to 46 six days after the fire.[21][22] The death toll later rose to 49.[23]

Most of the dead inmates were imprisoned for drug-related crimes, while a number of others were imprisoned for terrorism and murder. Two of the dead inmates were foreigners: one from South Africa and the other from Portugal.[24] All of the injured inmates were convicted for drug-related charges.[17]

Initial investigations by the police indicated that the fire occurred due to a short circuit.[10] The electrical wiring of the prison had not been upgraded since the prison was built in 1972, and there was also a shortage of fire extinguishers.[12]

Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly holding a press conference around an hour after his arrival.

Member of the People's Representative Council Syarifuddin Sudding demanded responsibility from Laoly in regards to the incident.[25] In response to the demands, Laoly formed five teams to assist in handling the incident, with each team being responsible for victim identification, victims' funerals, victims' family recovery, coordination of handling, or public relations.[26]

The President of Indonesia Joko Widodo, via his spokesperson Fadjroel Rachman, delivered his condolences to the victims and stated his expectation that the disaster could be handled with few casualties.[27]

Following the accident, Laoly announced that the relatives of the victims would be compensated. Each next-of-kin of the deceased would receive Rp 30 million (US$ 2,120).[28]

Mayor of Tangerang Arief Rachadiono Wismansyah announced that the city would provide financial compensation for the relatives of the victims.[29]

• 1930 Ohio Penitentiary fire
• 1994 Sabaneta Prison fire
• 2005 Higüey Prison fire
• 2010 Santiago prison fire
• 2012 Comayagua prison fire
• 2018 Valencia (Venezuela) prison fire
• List of building or structure fires

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