Fire on Dinh Cong Ha Street: goods blocked the aisle, Hanoi City urgently directed

Regarding a serious fire that occurred at more than 6:00 p.m. on June 16 at a house on Dinh Cong Ha Street (Hoang Mai, Hanoi) that left 4 people dead, it is known that at the time of the fire, there were 7 people in the house. People.

Three family members were able to quickly escape: the homeowner, the homeowner's son and daughter. In particular, the homeowner escaped through the 5th floor balcony and onto the adjacent neighbor's roof.

The remaining 4 victims in the family, including Mrs. NTH (born in 1971), grandson N.D.D.S (born in 2013), grandchild NDK (born in 2022) and NTA (born in 2018), did not survive. Rescuers brought it out at about 9:47 p.m.

Before that, at 6:05 p.m. on June 16, it was raining heavily and the first ripples of smoke rose from the 4th floor bedroom of a 6-storey house with a penthouse at 207 Dinh Cong Ha Street, Dinh Cong Ward, Hoang District. Roof. The homeowner's son and his wife, who were selling goods on the first floor, rushed out and shouted for fire.

The burned house was built on a plot of land about 6 meters wide and 20 meters deep, located in the middle of the crowded Dinh Cong Ha street. The house is designed in a tube style, on three sides adjacent to a 4-storey house for rent, 4- and 5-storey houses.

The homeowner spends the entire first floor trading in construction materials, electrical and water equipment, leaving only two small paths for guests to choose items and family members to go upstairs. Floors 2-3 are warehouses. Floors 4-5 are set back about 3 meters to accommodate bedrooms. In front there is an open balcony, so people in the house can escape to the neighbor's roof if there is a fire or explosion incident.

The 6th floor is the kitchen and dining room, covered with glass in front. The front half of the rooftop is fully fenced, the roof is fitted with solar panels, and the back half is open. The house has stairs, but it is full of goods, travel between floors is mainly by elevator. In front, from floors 1 to 3, the homeowner hangs product advertising signs.

Normally, the house is mainly occupied by the homeowner and his wife, and his son and his wife, who do business on the first floor. Yesterday, due to summer break and weekends, three children, ages 2, 6, and 11, respectively, came to play with their grandmother on the upper floor. 6, a neighbor said.

Hearing the screams of fire, Mr. Tran Ngoc Thien from the house next door brought a mini fire extinguisher to put out the fire. Climbing the stairs to the 3rd floor, he was stopped by fire and smoke pouring down from the 4th floor. Three times he went in and out, sprayed nearly 10 mini fire extinguishers, but Mr. Thien was unable to advance further.

Fire smoke from the 4th floor followed the stairs and atrium billowing to the upper floors. The homeowner quickly climbed over the 5th floor balcony to the neighbor's corrugated iron roof. On the 6th floor, four grandchildren tried to call for help. The children also reached out the window on the right side of the house, flashing their lights to call for help.

The homeowner, local police and residents climbed consecutively through two neighboring houses, using ladders to reach the back window. Initially 3-4 people, then more than 10 people took turns using axes to break tempered glass doors and iron bars, hoping to get inside.

"After nearly 10 minutes of using an ax to chop and someone to pull, the bar barrier opened. One person stuck his head inside but quickly came back out because black smoke went straight into his nose and made him unable to breathe," witness Quoc Cuong said.

It was raining, but fire and smoke were still rising, spilling out onto the balconies on the 4th and 5th floors, through the windows and open spaces on the upper floors.

At 6:22 p.m., the City Police Command Information Center received a fire report. City police dispatched 12 fire engines and more than 100 soldiers from the city's forces, Hoang Mai, Thanh Xuan, and Hoan Kiem districts to the scene. Fire trucks lined up about 100 meters long along Dinh Cong Ha street. Three layers of control were set up, many people were asked to leave the scene.

The police divided into many units to put out the fire. The first shot used water hoses from fire trucks to spray onto the 4th floor - the area where the fire was strongest. One climb up to the roof on the right and then climb up to the 3rd floor of the fire house leading the nozzle back up to the upper floor. An approach inside the house from the rear window has been broken.

The fire on the 4th floor burned bright red. Witnesses said that when the police sprayed water, the fire weakened, but when they stopped to switch hoses or another fire truck, it flared up again. The screams for help on the 6th floor gradually faded and then stopped completely.

A soldier from the Thanh Xuan District Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Team said that all floors of the house are used to store goods, so the movement path is very narrow. On the outside of the 6th floor and the top floor, in addition to the solid tiger cage, the homeowner also uses tempered glass, which makes breaking down the door takes a lot of time.

At 7:30 p.m., when the fire was temporarily controlled, firefighters entered the house. Particularly on the 5th and 6th floors, the toxic gas smoke was so thick, accompanied by the heat that they wore protective clothing and gas masks but were still quickly exhausted so they had to rotate in and out to search for victims.

By 8 p.m., the fire was completely extinguished. Going inside with firefighters to search for victims, Mr. Pham Quoc Viet, from the FAS Angel first aid team, said the first thing that caught his eye was the chaos of construction materials.

On the first floor, the homeowner has layer upon layer of paint cans, plastic pipes, and walkways just enough for one person. The second floor contains many heat-resistant foams, plastic pipes, PVC pipes, soundproofing panels...

The entire next floor is littered with nylon bags and corkscrews. "Inside, the air was thick with a burning smell and dark. The house is tube-style, with a balcony in front, but to get there, the people in the house had to pass through a lot of scattered furniture," Mr. Viet said.

At 9:50 p.m., the victims wrapped in white cloth were taken out and transferred to the morgue of Thanh Nhan Hospital. By 10:25 p.m., the search was completed and the scene was sealed off.

Regarding the fire, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Le Hong Son issued a document directing the handling and overcoming the consequences of the incident.

Specifically, Hanoi assigned the director of the City Police to coordinate with the chairman of Hoang Mai district and related units to focus on overcoming the consequences, urgently investigating and clarifying the cause of the fire, and clarifying responsibility. of organizations and individuals and handled according to the provisions of law (if any).

Director of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, along with the director of the Department of Education and Training and Chairman of Hoang Mai District People's Committee visited, encouraged and supported the families of fire victims according to regulations.

At the same time, Mr. Son requested the People's Committees of Hanoi City's districts to strictly implement regulations on fire prevention and fighting.

Relevant units mobilize and propagate households and households combining production and business to equip themselves with early fire warning systems to prevent incidents, reduce the risk of fire, explosion and damage caused by fire. , causing explosion.

Fire on Dinh Cong Ha Street: Escape route is sealed, experts warn urgently Bút Máy17:05:53 18/06/2024Experts recommend absolutely not storing flammable or explosive chemicals, and not placing flammable goods, objects, or utensils near fire or heat sources. Arrange furniture and objects in the house scientifically so as not to block escape routes in the house.