📰 Popular Seminyak restaurant Chez Gado Gado was almost completely destroyed by fire on Sunday evening, August 30. Police say a candle flame ignited balloons decorating a covered terrace during a birthday celebration. Guests heard a pop, and flames shot up into the alang-alang (dry grass) thatched roof.
• A security guard tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher but couldn't stop it in time – the dry roofing caught instantly and fire spread across most of the ~45x40m building.
• Firefighters arrived 10 minutes after the call; 10 trucks from 5 posts used about 115,000 liters of water to bring the blaze under control in 2 hours 40 minutes. No one was injured.
• Damage is estimated at ~4 billion rupiah (~$225,000). Police are investigating the cause. Note: balloons are supposed to be filled with helium (non-flammable), but hydrogen — which is flammable — is often used instead in Indonesia since it's cheaper.
🚒 This is the second fire tied to thatched roofing in the Seminyak/Canggu area this month, after 10 beach bars burned at Perancak Beach in Canggu.
@BaliNews