South Kalimantan Police Join Forces With Navy and Air Force to Distribute New Peatland Fire Suppressant

South Kalimantan’s police chief is preparing to involve Indonesia’s navy and air force in transporting an experimental firefighting liquid from Java to the province as production expands.

Inspector General Rosyanto Yudha Hermawan said the military branches would help move the raw materials needed for large-scale production. The liquid, developed by the South Kalimantan Police Laboratory and Forensics Division, uses a plant-based surfactant and is described as environmentally friendly.

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If it is later produced in large quantities, we will certainly need help from the air force and navy to transport raw materials from Java to South Kalimantan.

The mixture is added to ordinary water in a biofloc pond before being injected into burning peatland. Police designed two-meter pipes to carry the mixture deep into the soil. Thermal drones monitor ground temperatures before and after treatment.

Yudha said the method rapidly cooled the soil and completely extinguished embers inside the peat. Police applied it at burned areas on Jalan Sempati Tegal Arum in Syamsudin Noor and in Pengayuan, Landasan Ulin Selatan, both in Banjarbaru. Smoke at both locations reportedly declined significantly, leaving crews to concentrate on fires still burning at the surface.

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The result was that the soil temperature fell significantly and quickly became cool, while the embers in the peat were completely extinguished.