Indonesia is a country where challenges rarely come one at a time.
From floods and earthquakes to political disputes, humanitarian emergencies, and the everyday frictions of social life, the nation often faces them all at once. And yet, somehow, the country of more than 270 million people continues to endure.
Among the everyday lifelines that surface in moments of crisis, there is one institution that is both deeply rooted in the public imagination and widely celebrated across the country’s social media sphere.
It is Damkar, short for Pemadam Kebakaran. The firefighting squad.
But to call Damkar merely a fire brigade is to miss the breadth of their role.
More Than Just Firefighters
In the Archipelago, their work extends far beyond putting out flames. They are rescuers, problem-solvers, and at times even mediators, —stepping into situations where few others are willing, or able, to intervene.
Recently in Jakarta’s satellite town of Bogor, a two-meter python was found inside the bathroom of a house. The homeowner spotted the snake emerging from a water drain and immediately reported it to the city’s Damkar. The rescue team quickly arrived and evacuated the snake using special tools within 11 minutes, ensuring the situation was safely handled.
The Damkar in the city of Depok successfully handled an unusual emergency this afternoon when a mother sought their help for her 1.5-year-old child. The toddler’s finger had become stuck in a metal bottle cap, causing injury.
Acting with care, the firefighters carefully released the child’s finger using pliers, as captured in a video posted on their official Instagram account (@depokfirerescue113). After freeing the finger, the team immediately provided wound care by applying antiseptic and medication, ensuring the child’s safety and comfort.
In the city of Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan, the city’s Damkar carried out a humanitarian mission on Sunday (17/08) after receiving a report from a resident through Call Center 112 about a wasp nest posing danger to the neighborhood, especially children.
Responding swiftly, the Damkar went to the site, conducted safety preparations, and carefully removed the nest. The operation was completed safely without any disturbances or casualties, and the nest was secured to prevent further risks.
These are just some of the heroic stories of our country’s Damkar.
What began strictly as a firefighting unit has, recently, become something more, —almost like Indonesia’s version of 911. Their role – and the popularity – today, – feels both uplifting and troubling at once.
It is uplifting, because it shows their devotion to helping in any situation.
It is also troubling, because it reveals the gap that still exists in Indonesia’s broader emergency response system.
If we look closely, many of these extra responsibilities lie outside Damkar’s real mandate.
At its core, Damkar, true to its very name, was founded to tackle fire emergencies: to move swiftly when flames erupt, extinguish them before they spread, and safeguard homes, buildings, and public facilities from greater damage.
Their work, however, is not only about fighting fires. It also involves prevention, running public education campaigns, training communities and workplaces on preparedness, and issuing hazard warnings. Even so, these efforts remain firmly tied to fire response.
It’s quite different from being called to rescue a python or free a toddler’s finger stuck in a bottle.
A Troubling Gap
Hence, the extended role of Indonesia’s Damkar has led to the questions:
Do we have a special unit that is responsible for tackling that so far has been handled by Damkar?
Where’s the Indonesia’s 911 version of Damkar?
The answer is: NO and NONE respectively.
For the record, Indonesia does not use 911 or an equivalent system as its national emergency number. Instead, the primary general emergency number is 122, which connects callers to a centralized emergency center handling a range of urgent situations: police, medical, fire, and disaster response – in many major cities and regions across the country.
For search and rescue operations during natural disasters, responsibility lies with Basarnas (Badan SAR Nasional), while cases of crime are directed to the police. However, when it comes to the more “domestic” emergencies I mentioned earlier, the public often has no option but to contact the Damkar.
In a country as densely populated and disaster-prone as Indonesia, the lack of a dedicated institution, —one whose duties have so far fallen on Damkar, —should ring alarm bells not only within government halls but also among the public at large.
A Mandate for the State
Running a country without a centralized emergency call system, or Indonesia’s equivalent of “911”, is more than just an inconvenience. It is a fundamental risk that undermines public safety and trust in the state.
This gap must be closed, and quickly.
For now, members of Damkar are often left to fill the void. Their willingness to respond, whether viewed as humanitarian duty or Samaritan spirit, is admirable.
But from the perspective of state administration, relying on them as an all-purpose emergency line is not a sustainable solution. If anything, it exposes a flaw in how Indonesia structuress and deliver critical public services.
Damkar has proven its capacity in ways that go far beyond firefighting. From rescuing trapped animals to helping during floods, their role has steadily expanded. This, if anything, makes the case clearer: Indonesia needs a specialized, fully institutionalized unit dedicated to handling the kinds of diverse emergencies that Damkar has shouldered for years.
And make no mistake, —there is no shortage of Indonesians ready to take on the responsibility.
Jakarta’s latest firefighter recruitment drive proves the point: more than 20,000 applicants competed for just 1,000 openings in the 2025 intake. These were young Indonesians, aged 18 to 30, who queued for the chance to serve their city. Those selected will be stationed across Jakarta’s five regions, strengthening the capital’s resilience in times of crisis.
Officials say this overwhelming interest came as no surprise. After all, the pull of a stable job matters. But beyond that, there is prestige and pride in standing at the front line when disaster strikes. Indonesians are willing to serve.
The real question is: will the state provide the system that allows them to do so effectively?
If Indonesia is serious about building a modern emergency response, then leaving this flaw unaddressed is no longer an option. In a moment of crisis, in the case of Indonesia, no citizen should be left guessing who to call. That assurance is the state’s responsibility to deliver.
And for members of Damkar, their mission should be clear and undistracted: to do the job they were trained for: putting out fires.
0 Comments