Ten major fire accidents, ten in-depth accident summaries

At 21:35 on December 25, 2000 (Christmas Eve), a massive fire broke out at the Dongdu Shopping Mall in Luoyang City, Henan Province, resulting in 309 deaths, 7 injuries, and direct financial losses of 2.75 million yuan. The forensic examination results showed that all 309 individuals died from asphyxiation due to inhalation (135 males and 174 females). Upon investigation, the fire was caused by illegal welding operations during business operations. Lessons learned: Welding operations must not be carried out during operation.

Case 2: Fire at the Harbin Swan Hotel On the early morning of April 18, 1985, a fire broke out on the 11th floor of the Harbin Swan Hotel. The fire affected 21 guest rooms, 6 of which were completely destroyed. 10 people lost their lives in the fire, including 6 foreign guests; 7 people were seriously injured, among them 4 foreigners. The direct economic loss amounted to approximately 250,000 yuan. Upon investigation, that evening, American engineer Andrik went to the Harbin Refinery for a banquet and drank a lot of alcohol. Back at the hotel, I got dressed, lay down in bed and smoked. As I fell asleep, the cigarette butt fell on the bed and set the bedding on fire.

Lesson learned: Smoking while intoxicated in the room is not allowed.

Case 3: Fire at the North Annex Building of CCTV, 20:27 on February 9, 2009 (the 15th day of the lunar calendar, Lantern Festival)； A fire broke out at the \"Culture Center Building\", an annex located on the north side of CCTV’s new headquarters in Beijing; the fire resulted in the death of one firefighter and injuries to six others. The direct property loss amounted to 1.5 billion yuan. Upon investigation, the cause of the fire was the illegal setting off of fireworks and firecrackers. According to relevant regulations, fireworks and firecrackers are not allowed to be set off within 50 meters of buildings. Lesson learned: Fireworks and firecrackers must not be set off in violation of regulations.

Case 4: Liquid ammonia explosion at Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Industry The around 6:10 a.m. on June 3, 2013, a severe fire and explosion accident occurred in the main factory building of Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Baoyuanfeng Company), located in Dehui City, Changchun City, Jilin Province. The accident resulted in 121 deaths and 76 injuries; 17,234 square meters of the main factory building along with the production equipment inside it were destroyed, causing direct economic losses of 182 million yuan. The direct cause of the fire was a short circuit in the electrical wiring located above the women’s dressing room to the west of Workshop 1 in Baoyuanfeng Company’s main factory building, as well as in the power distribution room adjacent to Workshop 2 (it is unknown whether the wiring was protected by conduits); this led to the ignition of surrounding flammable materials. When the fire spread to the ammonia equipment and ammonia pipeline areas, the high temperatures generated by the combustion caused physical explosions in those equipment and pipelines, resulting in a large release of ammonia gas that contributed to the fire. There were 395 people on site in the workshop that day. The maximum possible amount of liquid ammonia leaked in the accident is estimated to be 15 tons. Lessons learned: Workplaces with heavy personnel presence should be kept away from major fire hazards.

Case 5: Fire on the exterior wall of Jiaozhou Road in Shanghai. At around 2:15 p.m. on November 15, 2010, the Jiaozhou High-Rise Teachers’ Apartment at No. 1, Lane 707, Jiaozhou Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai, was involved in a fire. It was found that at 2:14 p.m. on that day, welder Wu Guolue and worker Wang Yongliang carried out welding work in violation of safety regulations while reinforcing the cantilevered supports of the scaffolding on the 10th floor of the apartment building at No. 728, Jiaozhou Road; this welding activity triggered the fire. The incident resulted in 58 deaths, 71 injuries, and direct economic losses of 158 million yuan.