Mr Sahlan, another resident affected by the blaze, said that he saw a lightning strike on the night of the incident.
“After a while, I saw some sparks in the Pertamina compound … but there was no fire yet so I still sat around my house.
“Later, when the fire started, I left my house immediately. If I had stayed on to pack my belongings, I would not have made it out,” Mr Sahlan, who goes by one name, told CNA, adding that a foul smell filled the air as he left his house.
“There was no warning at all. Suddenly, there was a fireball … I ran away from my house without taking anything with me at all. Not money nor any of my belongings.”
As of Monday morning, about 193 people remained at the evacuation centre, according to Mr Syarief Hidayutallah, the deputy secretary for the North Jakarta region of the Indonesian Red Cross.
He told CNA that the evacuation centre will remain in operation for a period of seven days following the fire on Friday night.
“Moving forward, that is something that needs to be discussed,” he said, adding that the centre has stopped accepting food donations.
“What we are hoping for in terms of donations are school supplies for the children – that is something we have yet to receive to this day.”
At the evacuation centre, Mr Hidayutallah said that they provide counselling and trauma healing sessions for those affected by the blaze.
“We also play with the children so that they are able to forget about what had happened the night of the fire,” he said.
STATE-OWNED COMPANY APOLOGISES FOR BLAZE
In a statement on Monday, state energy company Pertamina Patra Niaga apologised for the blaze and said that it mourns the victims of the disaster.
“Of course, no one wants this disaster to happen. We will take full responsibility … and will provide the best treatment for the victims (of the blaze) and assist the needs of the families of those currently warded in hospitals,” the firm said in a statement.
It added that the firm will also cover all patient care costs of the victims and will be on standby at the hospitals to anticipate the needs of those affected.
“The best treatment for the victims remains our priority,” Pertamina Patra Niaga said in its statement.
The fire, which started at about 8pm local time on Friday, reportedly began from a fuel pipe at Pertamina’s Plumpang fuel storage depot in Jakarta.
It quickly spread to nearby houses in the area and sent the local population running for safety, local media reported.