Hotel managers, guesthouse owners, and villa hosts in Bali have been called on to urgently review health and safety standards at their properties.
The calls came after two major fires devastated three hotels in busy resort areas in just two weeks.
While there were no reported casualties in either instance, the fires have decimated buildings and guests’ material belongings.
The Chairman of the Bali brand of the Tourism Association of Indonesia, Nyoman Astama, reported that he is deeply concerned about the recent fires at accommodations in Seminyak and Padangbai. There have also been fires reported in residential areas in the village north of Canggu.
Astama told reporters that he wants to see more focus on security, health, and safety in the tourism sector.
He said, “This shows the importance of these security elements…whether medium, low, medium-high, or high risk [it must be addressed] if accommodation facilities are already operating, it is very important to meet the operational requirements according to the [safety] category.”
The Chairman of the Bali Villa Association, Putu Gede Hendrawan, echoed Astana’s sentiments. He shared, “This is something that needs to be taken seriously and thought about in the future. How to minimize the risk of future events, the standardization of safety in the villa and hotel properties must be reassessed.”
“I ask this be of serious concern for our government in the future so this kind of incident does not take place again because of negligence. [This happened] because of indifference to the standardization of property safety in both hotels and villas.”
He stated clearly that tourism accommodation properties that are high fire risk, such as those made of wood, those with a reed roof, or those made from combustible materials, should have better fire prevention security standards.
He called on property owners who have used such high-fire-risk materials to anticipate the fire risk and implement suitable safety protocols.
Hendrawan added, for example, “If the location is narrow and difficult to reach by vehicle, what are the necessary anticipation efforts if there is a fire, for example? Likewise, the emergency stairs it is an absolute requirement for multi-storey buildings in anticipation of unwanted events.”
He confirmed that he and his teams at the Bali Villa Association would continue to push for and develop a standardized safety certification for private villas so that tourists can book with confidence.
Hendrawan also confirmed that he wants to see ‘supervision’ of these certification standards to ensure that villa owners do not tick all the right boxes one time only and then let safety standards slip.
Hendrawan said, “This team will continue to control, supervise, and remind entrepreneurs to improve the safety systems within their businesses. Because this is serious, in the future, due [for example] to the dry season, this is a main factor in accelerating fires, short circles, and operational negligence that can spark fires.”
Following the devastating fire at Amaysa Villas in Seminyak on Sunday evening and the fire that ripped through Padangbai Beach Inn Hotel, Kerti Beach Bungalow Hotel, and Padangbai Billabong Restaurant in Padangbai on Sunday, 21st July, yet another major fire broke out close to Canggu on Monday 29th July.
The fire broke out at the makeshift accommodation provided for construction workers laboring on a new tourism accommodation project. A fire has also been reported at a laundrette in Denpasar.
The Head of Badung Police Public Relations, Ipda I Ketut Sukarma, confirmed yesterday afternoon that the laborers were questioned regarding the incident, yet none of them observed the start of the fire.
Fire crews attended the scene, and the blaze was brought under control within 30 minutes. Sukarama confirmed, “The fire team was able to extinguish the fire well so that it did not spread to surrounding buildings. The incident also did not cause any injuries or fatalities.”
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Exp
Saturday 3rd of August 2024
"Already checked. All ok pak". Heard that one before?
Shorty
Friday 2nd of August 2024
An obvious precaution would be to ban alang alang roofs on new buildings and on replacement.
Villas with swimming pools should be required to have diesel powered portable water pumps.
Smoke detectors are cheap and should be compulsory.
Exp
Saturday 3rd of August 2024
@Shorty, Why not banning the cause for many fires: fireworks.
Specialmoments
Thursday 1st of August 2024
Not surprising. There is no enforcement of any safety and health standards in Bali. Free for all. Hotels, airbnb, guesthouse most do not have any SOP or extinguishers. Never any inspections by any officials. We can thank god there was no injury. Same for food..... even worst. The local government does not have any organization and structure in place for this.
It is like a local who decides to offer cable guilding experience and a young child got stuck, 30 meters above ground. This must be inspected and certified. It is not.