Fifteen people were killed and 44 were hospitalized after a fire broke out in a residential building in the city of Nanjing in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, Mayor Chen Zhichang said at a news conference on Saturday.
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“As a result of the incident, 15 people died, 44 people were hospitalized, one of them is in critical condition, one is in serious condition, and 42 people were slightly injured,” Chen Zhichang said.
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A fire occurred on Friday night in one of the residential complexes in the Yuhuatai district of Nanjing, the fire was reported to the fire department at 4.39 local time. The fire was extinguished by 6:00 the same day, and search and rescue efforts were completed by 14:00.
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According to preliminary investigation data, the fire could have occurred in a surface parking lot for bicycles and electric mopeds, and then spread to a residential entrance.
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The city fire department clarified that 25 vehicles and 130 people were involved in the firefighting and search and rescue operation.
The city also said that a total of 32 ambulances were deployed to transport the victims, and an expert group of 30 specialists in the fields of respiratory diseases, burns and psychology was created to develop a treatment program for the victims. It is noted that the majority of those hospitalized after the fire were admitted with inhalation injuries caused by inhalation of thick toxic smoke; they were provided with the necessary assistance, and their condition was assessed as stable.
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The building where the fire occurred has two entrances, and at the time of the incident there were 762 people in them. The authorities accommodated 516 people in 229 rooms of five hotels; they were provided with three meals a day, a change of clothes, chargers for gadgets, toiletries, and basic medicines. The remaining residents went to visit relatives or friends.
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Mayor Chen Zhichang offered condolences to the families of the victims and said authorities had set up a special investigation team to thoroughly investigate the cause of the fire.
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“We will fully cooperate to clarify all the facts, and with all rigor and in accordance with the law and rules, we will hold accountable those who neglected their official duties,” the mayor said.
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In many houses and residential complexes in Chinese cities, special parking lots are equipped for bicycles and electric mopeds, where you can also use charging facilities. Often special charging stations are installed at home, but there are often cases when extension cords pulled from the building are used for these needs, not always of the best quality.
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Fire safety, especially in high-rise buildings in China, is often criticized; there are often cases when staircase exits in residential buildings or commercial buildings may be blocked, and the staircases themselves are littered with foreign objects.
