Fire shakes residents, halts business
- Source: Global Times
- [09:14 July 26 2010]
- Comments
Firefighters work to snuff out a fire that broke out on the top floor of a building Sunday afternoon in Jing'an district. Photo: Cai Xianmin
By Liu Dong
Two families were asked by firefighters not to return home Sunday evening after their apartments were the collateral damage of a fire that caught earlier to a small commercial building situated meters from their Jing'an district residence.
It took a few dozen firefighters roughly an hour and a half to put out the flames that broke out on the top floor of the nearby three-storey building on Yan'an Road Middle near Shimenyi Road around 1:30 pm. The third floor, which has been vacant for months, is rented by the Metropolitan Snooker Club.
No casualties or injuries were reported, but the remainder of the residents, some 20 families, who moved back in around 9 pm, felt shaken by the fire afterwards, according to a staff member of the Nanjing Road West neighborhood committee, which jurisdiction covers the area where the residential building on Shimenyi Road is located.
"They were terrified by the fire," the woman, who asked not to be named, told the Global Times last night. "They're trying to make sense of what happened."
She said that one family was staying at a hotel while the other was with relatives since their homes suffered leaky walls and roofs from the strong water hoses used earlier by firefighters.
As of Sunday evening, the cause of the fire was unknown, but firefighters said that the fire, which proved a bit challenging for firefighters due to strong winds Sunday afternoon, is being investigated, a man surnamed Yang, commander of the firefighters from the Beijing Road West fire station, which responded to the incident, told the Global Times Sunday.
He was doubtful that the commercial building, which caught fire and its annex building - both charred with help from the wind carrying the flames - would reopen for business today due to safety reasons.
Due to the strong pressure of the water hoses used by the firefighters, the north wall of the commercial building was damaged, leaning inwards approximately at a 75-degree angle.
"The wall won't likely collapse, but we set up a support bracket just to be on the safe side," Yang told the Global Times Sunday.
The empty snooker club, served as more of a storage space, filled with items such as wooden chairs among other things, according to a man surnamed Dai, who runs a dance hall on the second floor.
"Our hall has been ruined, and who knows when we'll be able to resume business," he said.
Meanwhile, Zhang Renliang, director of Jing'an district, said officials will meet with the owner of the snooker club and the other renters in the building to sort out issues related to the fire, including compensation for the related damages. He added that the interests of the affected residents will also be minded.
